As everyone from babies to grandmothers to dogs danced in colorful attire, thousands marched in Springfield’s second annual Pride Parade.
Taurean Bethea, founder of the Springfield Pride Parade Organization, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno both said this year’s Pride Parade may be larger than last year’s, which had 6,000 parade-goers — more than the anticipated 500 attendees.
According to Sarno, the city only received two “nasty” letters or emails about the Pride events that have been happening for the past couple of days, a small number in comparison to the amount of backlash Sarno said the city received in the form of letters or emails last year.
Richard Parris-Scott made noise with their luxurious and lengthy Pride outfit. Parris-Scott said they initially saw the design through a Los Angeles Pride Parade and asked the designer for their blessing to use it.
Working in collaboration with The Quilted Queer, the statement piece is a way for Parris-Scott to express themself and create more visibility, especially as a Black transgender person, they said.
Several groups and sponsors of the parade marched in support of Pride, such as Bay State, MassMutual, and Dewey’s Jazz Lounge, among others, including 30 people representing MassLive.
Becca Coolong, executive director of the Human Service Forum and second-time Springfield Pride Parade attendee, said she believes everyone should be at the parade.
“It’s a wonderful act of resistance against hate,” Coolong told MassLive.
For others who weren’t able to attend last year’s Springfield Pride Parade, this year’s parade offered them a chance to be part of a community.
Grey Pouliot and Reese Granholm said this was their first Pride parades. Both students at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts, they said they are used to being around LGBTQIA+ individuals but being at the Springfield Pride Parade allowed them to see different kinds of people who are part of the community.
“It’s nice to see it’s not just me and my two friends,” Granholm said.
Christopher Tarvit, a Spanish teacher at Birchland Park Middle School in East Longmeadow, marched for the second year in a row with students and other teachers at the elementary and high school level.
The parade is bittersweet for Tarvit, as he lived just 300 feet from the starting point of the Springfield Pride Parade for 17 years but Springfield’s first parade wasn’t until last year.
“The love here is amazing,” Tarvit said. “I never had this.”
Since last year’s parade, more youth have been coming out, said Tierney Chrusciel, a student at Birchland Park Middle School. Chrusciel said they started the LGBTQIA+ group at their school in October of 2021, when they were a sixth grader, despite receiving resistance from some parents.
Despite the pushback, Tarvit said, the “climate is changing,” and Birchland Park Middle School has been incredibly supportive of LGBTQIA+ students, especially Principal Tim Allen.
Parade attendees began their more than a mile-long journey through the city at the Springfield Technical Community College campus, turning onto State Street, walking less than a mile to the MassMutual Center and taking a right onto Main Street until turning down to Stearns Square between Worthington and Bridge streets for the Pride block party.
The party featured performers such as 2000s rap legend Trina, DJs, photobooths, Starbucks coffee and pastries and more than 50 vendors.
Mykaela O’Connell and Shakayla Therrien, chefs at BarKaya Sushi & Ramen, said the restaurant closed for Pride Parade in order to celebrate.
Although Therrien said she has been to other Pride Parades, Springfield’s Pride is special to her because it’s where she grew up.
“I love this. It gives me life,” Therrien said, referring to the parade.
“What I love about the city now is there’s just this energy, you know, it’s innovation happening,” Bethea told a group of MassLive journalists on May 16.
The destination for the parade was new this year, changing from last year’s Court Square to Stearns Square, between Worthington and Bridge streets. Bethea said the change in location is “exciting,” in part because the area is larger and has “a lot more character to it.”
Bethea said he thinks of the Springfield Pride Parade as “a celebration of our work, not our work.”
In addition to working on the parade, Bethea focuses on running the Safe Space initiative through the Pride Parade organization. The program partners with Springfield business owners to place public-facing decals to commit to and demonstrate their business is inclusive to LGBTQIA+ individuals. MassLive is one of more than a dozen businesses participating in the initiative.
The Pride Parade organization, which has become an official city commission, also runs summer programming in partnership with Springfield College and programs in Springfield Public Schools.
“It makes you feel good to be mayor,” Sarno said of the parade.
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