Wednesday was a busy day as a prelude to Pride Month, and it was filled with several youth-focused events at sites throughout Batavia.
The day began with an opening ceremony of a Pride flag at Jerome Center’s War Memorial and youth sharing what pride means to them. Next was a LGBTQ youth support group at GO Art! to provide a “safe space to share challenges and triumphs, meet new friends and get ready for Pride.” Later in the evening, there was a “big, fabulous” block party at First Presbyterian Church, accented with an ice cream chill truck, rock painting, tie-dying and other assorted family activities.
Next up is a GLOW OUT 5K Run and Celebration that begins and ends at Centennial Park. That event is set for 5 to 9 p.m. on June 9. It begins on Richmond Avenue in front of Centennial Park and winds around Bank and Ross streets, Washington and Ellicott avenues and back to Centennial.
Just a few days later is to be the GLOW OUT parade and festival, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 11 at Batavia City Centre parking lot. Some 15 vendors and an estimated 600 participants are expected for the event, according to the organizer, GLOW OUT President Gregory Hallock.
According to nationalday.com, Pride Month is celebrated every June as a tribute to those who were involved in the Stonewall Riots. On a hot summer’s night in New York on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village. The raid resulted in bar patrons, staff, and neighborhood residents rioting onto Christopher Street outside, the website states. Among the many leaders of the riots was a black, trans, bisexual woman, Marsha P. Johnson, leading the movement to continue over six days with protests and clashes. Protestors clearly demonstrated their message, and demanded the establishment of places where LGBT+ people could go and be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest.
Batavia will be one of the numerous backdrops for Pride concerts, festivals, parades and other celebratory activities.
Photos by Howard Owens
