The streets of downtown Springfield will be lit up with all colors of the rainbow on Saturday as the second annual Pride Parade returns to the city.
All are welcome to take part in the celebration of LGBTQIA+ pride, which steps off from Springfield Technical Community College at noon. The parade will march to Stearns Square, where a citywide block party will begin at 12:30 p.m. and last until 9 p.m.
“Our goal is to go bigger and better,” said Taurean Bethea, leader of the Springfield Pride Parade organization.
Attendees are invited to gather on the college’s campus for the parade’s start. Spectators are encouraged to cheer on marchers from the sides of State Street. Participants can walk solo, in groups, and dress in costume or arrive on floats.
“If your spirit says get up and dance and join the march, why not?” Bethea said. “We’re here to show love and have a good time. We’re coming together as one!”
The block party in Stearns Square will feature regional and local vendors. Live entertainment will include DJ Kenneth Kyrell and hostess Ruby Monroe. Trina Rockstarr, a rapper who rose to fame in the early 2000s with songs like “Here We Go” and “B R Right,” will round out the night. The event is free, open to the public, and all entertainment will be family-friendly.
For Bethea, organizing the city’s Pride Parade is a matter of personal importance. “As a kid from Springfield who identifies as gay, growing up in a city not seeing anything to do with [the] LGBTQIA+ community outside of hearsay of a neighbor or family member, you just didn’t see it, so it was a part of me that was buried until I left the city,” Bethea said.
“As an adult out and proud, I now know the importance of that visibility and representation,” Bethea said. “So I am extremely happy this kid from Springfield is able to bring this event here so our LGBTQIA+ youth can be seen and feel supported.”
Ahead of Saturday’s Pride Festival, the Springfield Pride Parade will host a fundraising gala tonight at MGM Springfield in the Aria Ballroom. The You Ball will feature celebrity DJ Kenneth Kyrell, Malado, and The House of Margiela as entertainment. The event is formal-attire only, and proceeds benefit programs and initiatives to support LGBTQIA+ youth. Tickets, which are $200 general admission, can be purchased online.
Bethea encourages community members from all walks of life to come out and celebrate. “The Springfield Pride Parade is where you can come and just be you, and you will be supported, loved and protected.” For members of the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, Bethea says to “always walk with your head held high and be proud to live in your purpose.”
Also in Springfield, the Museums will host Family Pride Day on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The daylong event offers a “rainbow of activities for all ages” and is free with admission, according to the museum’s website.
Special events will include selfies with the Cat in the Hat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., and a drag story hour with Patty Bourree at 1 and 2 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to design their own Pride flags and buttons and friendship bracelets and take part in a dance party on the Quadrangle.
For more information on Springfield Pride festivities, visit the Springfield Pride website.
Other Pride events
Other Western Massachusetts cities and towns are busy planning Pride celebrations. The events are typically held in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, a series of riots for gay liberation that took place over several days in New York City beginning on June 28, 1969.
In Chicopee, a Pride Fest will be held over two days. On June 9, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., a flag-raising, panel and discussion will be held at the city’s main library. On June 10, a festival in Szot Park from 3 to 9 p.m. will feature live entertainment, food trucks, vendors and a park parade.
Holyoke’s Pride Fest will be held June 17, from noon to 6 p.m., at Veterans Park, and will feature Jessica Wild, of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame, and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Mary Lambert.
The seventh annual Franklin County Pride Parade & Rally will be June 10, from noon to 3:30 p.m., in Greenfield. The parade begins at Federal Street and Sanderson Street, and will march to Energy Park, 50 Miles St., for a rally from 12:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Enfield will celebrate Pride month with an all-day festival on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the Enfield Town Green. Festivities will include a drag queen performance, vendors, community organizations and food trucks.
Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, will celebrate Pride Month with “Cocktails & Queens” at The Cabaret Theatre on June 24 at 8 p.m. The entertainment will feature drag queens from across the country, including headliners Kenya Mone Heart, Pangina Heals, and Robin Fierce. Tickets, which are $40, can be purchased online. Doors open at 7 p.m.; this is a 21 and older event.
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