Wilder Park Holiday Tree 2025
2025 Theme: America Is For Everyone
In 2026, our country will celebrate its 250th anniversary. We at the EPC are excited to share that our theme for Elmhurst Family Pride Fest this year will be America Is For Everyone. And we love this theme so much that we've decided to extend it toward our Wilder Park holiday tree as well.
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But what exactly does that mean? We believe what makes America truly exceptional is our diversity. We are a nation of unique individuals -- representing every race, ethnicity, religion, and gender -- united and strengthened in our work toward fulfilling the true promise of our country. We are a nation of many voices and many stories, and each one contributes something beautiful and special.
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To celebrate our country's diversity, we chose Trans Forming Liberty, by artist Amy Sherald, to be our model and inspiration. This work showcases the beauty, strength, and pride of a transgender woman, and emphasizes the idea that there is not just one ideal representation of an American, but many. We are all American. And America Is For Everyone.
America Is For Everyone:
Watch for more on this theme during our 2026 Pride celebrations! Details coming soon!
Our Inspiration: Trans Forming Liberty,
by Amy Sherald
"Through my work, I seek to make visible the full, complex truth of American life. Transgender people, Black and Brown people, we are all part of the American identity. Attempts to erase our existence is not only futile, but a blatant disservice to the truth.” -- Amy Sherald
About the artist
Amy Sherald is an American painter best known for her official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama. Her work centers the lives of the LGBTQ+ and black communities, and earned her a 2025 Ally for Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign. Her art has been shown in many museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and in group and solo shows across the country.
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This past summer, Sherald canceled a planned exhibition of her works at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, called American Sublime, over censorship issues related to our inspiration image, a painting titled Trans Forming Liberty, featuring a trans woman posed in the style of the Statue of Liberty. This show will now appear through April 5 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. (Details from the New York Times)
