Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabby & Fitz.
Hi Gabby & Fitz, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Rainbow Road was founded by a couple of queer neurodivergent nerds who saw a need for more nerdy events in Richmond, and even more so, events that were indeed a safe space for all nerds! They wanted to fill that gap and cultivate a community in which all nerds felt welcome, whether
they’re BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Neurodivergent, all the above, or an awesome ally, Rainbow Road strives to be a home for all.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not! We deal with the usual problems folks who host events deal with — last minute changes/cancellations, being double booked at a venue, even have had our entertainment guest back out last second once! But, something we still struggle with today is finding venue space that will be enough for what we want to accomplish while still being affordable enough to keep our vendor fees low. We truly are looking for a Goldilocks but we hope someone out there will like what we are trying to build and will either help via donations or by pointing us to the right direction!
As you know, we’re big fans of Rainbow Road Collective . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Rainbow Road’s team started out as vendors themselves, so we come from a place of understanding and have inside knowledge of what exactly was lacking from other hosts. Rainbow Road values all their artists and vendors, and put in the work to not only make sure to spotlight each and every accepted applicant on our social media, but also to vet each application to make sure folks are genuine, seem safe, and are NOT using AI. Rainbow Road does not have space for AI made “art” nor supports ai made items being sold. Rainbow Road also believes in uplifting the community, with all of their events having had fundraising opportunities, mainly for local non profit Side by Side! They also consider rising costs for artists and vendors and promises to always try to keep vending fees as accessible as possible.
Rainbow Road will prioritize queer vendors but all are welcome to apply! Their events, both big and small, reflect something you’d see at Comic-Cons (with their first mini con happening later this year), so those are the types of vendors they look for, and of course folks who share their core values and have an inclusive mindset.
Rainbow Road events will always support human made arts and goods, small businesses, and of course the queer community!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We believe some risks need to be taken, especially if you want to grow! We have thrown ourselves out there a few times, not knowing what would be on the other side, only to have found we were ready for all of it! Our most recent example was our first mini con; we weren’t sure if we were logistically ready, it was a big financial investment, and we had last minute cancellations from important guests, but we trucked on and glad we did. We learned a lot and feel more ready for the next one!
Sometimes the biggest thing stopping your growth is yourself.
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