Well, it’s officially here: Pride Month. Sure, there are some places that celebrate Pride in other months (yes, Rehoboth, we’re talking about you), but most Pride events in the States are in June, with July coming in second.
Besides, for the second year in a row, President Obama designated June as LGBT Pride Month.
Though Philadelphia’s PrideDay isn’t until June 13, you can certainly get started this weekend. There is a Pride celebration June 4 in Pittsburgh, followed by Philadelphia’s Latino Pride on June 5, with Asbury Park, N.J.’s Pride on June 6.
For the second year in a row, Macy’s Center City will hold a Pride event, on June 9
We won’t mention Capitol Pride here, as it happens the same day as Philadelphia’s Pride. Let’s cross our fingers now for 80-degree sunny weather for the Delaware Valley. (It’s before summer technically starts: That should be doable, right?)
If that doesn’t satisfy your Pride craving, or maybe you just need to meet as many LGBT folks as you can this summer, Lancaster is holding its Pride June 19, and Baltimore’s Pride is June 19-20. If you want to hold out for something bigger, New York City’s Pride is June 27, followed by Toronto’s Pride on July 4.
Further out is Reading Pride on July 18 and Harrisburg and Erie Prides on July 24.
If you want, you could hit a Pride celebration nearly every weekend in June and July without venturing off the East Coast.
But with all the celebrating, the parades, the festivals, the entertainment, it’s also a good time to remember why the community is marking the occasion in the first place.
The parades began as marches — annual reminders — that gays and lesbians existed, and that they were — and we are — just like everyone else. We are not criminals; we are not mentally ill.
Though certainly not homogenous in our lives, we collectively want what everyone wants: to be respected, to be treated fairly and with dignity, to have the right to work, live and love as we want. The right to pursue happiness, the right to liberty and justice. To be free from prejudice and discrimination.
As Pride Month begins, it’s important to remember why we celebrate, to mark our progress as a community and take stock of what we have yet to achieve. Celebrate, yes. But remember, too, the activism we are marking with our celebration.