ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – The month of June is LGBTQ Pride Month, and over 10 different events are happening in communities across the state, including St. Albans, where a local organization is putting its very first event.
“A lot of people have told us from the start that it was a lot. But we are like, what, a week-and-a-half away now and we pulled it off. So, that is really, really exciting,” said Kurt Hersey, a co-founder of St. Albans Pride Corps, a new organization gearing up for its first-ever Pride Weekend. “When we started this, we were like okay, this is something the community needs. But it wasn’t until we started that we realized it’s something that the community really really wants.”
The weekend of June 7th will include a drag show, a parade, vendors, food trucks, a family picnic day, a raffle, an ice cream social, and affirming LGBTQ church services.
“It is not just community partners that have been supportive. It’s also been community members — 95% of the feedback we have gotten has been positive — and the 5% that has been negative has been overwhelmingly drowned out by positive voices,” Hersey said.
Chip Sawyer, St. Albans director of planning and development, says they are excited to host next month’s celebrations. “Downtown St. Albans in particular is a great place to hold community events. Like this, especially this kind of event that is really important to many community members that want to show that they are here, they are members of our community,” he said.
Sister organizations like Essex Pride Vermont, who are gearing up for their pride event June 1, stress the importance of creating an inclusive space for Vermont’s LGBTQ community. “There is an awesome kind of behind-the-scenes email distribution list with pride organizers across the state. We really get together and share best practices. Things that worked in years past, things that haven’t worked. We really have just used that network of contacts to build these awesome events’ and awesome communities,” said the group’s Kris Smith.
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