New Hope Celebrates is gearing up to kick off its 10-year anniversary with a week of events honoring both its history and future.
The annual Pride festivities will start May 12 and will culminate in the parade and festival May 18.
“It started out as a one-day event and it’s exploded into over a week of events,” said NHC founder and president Daniel Brooks. “While we initially conceived of just events for the LGBT community, we enlarged that to every capsule of the LGBT community. We have family events, art events, a gamut of activities that both the LGBT and straight population in New Hope attend.”
Among NHC’s latest accomplishments is Retro-Scop.com, a new online archival system that allows supporters to upload ephemera about New Hope’s LGBT history.
“People can share videos, blog and photos that they have been collecting for years,” Brooks said. “They have a place to send it now, like an online museum. While a lot of our events are during the day, the online archive will go on forever.”
Brooks said the anniversary event, which is expected to bring in more than 10,000 visitors, will also be honored by the town’s bars, businesses and restaurants, who will decorate in tribute to the anniversary. Floats and marching bands will play music from the decade during the parade.
Retro-Scope exhibitions will be on display at The Raven and New Hope Lodge through May 19.
The week will kick off with an art exhibit from 6-9 p.m. May 11 at River Queen Artisans Gallery in Lambertville. The Raven will host a tea dance the following day, while Bucks County Playhouse will screen “I Remember Mother,” a film by the late Tim McMurtry about New Hope’s Josie Cavelluci, at 1 p.m.
The ensuing week will feature parties, a pool tournament and BINGO competition and a series of live performances. On May 17, guests can take in a preview fireworks show of this summer’s Friday night fireworks displays, and the parade kicks off the following day at 11 a.m., followed by a vendor fair and block party.
“It is unlike any Pride event,” Brooks said. “People bring their kids; it is an event that everybody in town participates in. It is the first Pride event [of the season], and it is a great time to come to New Hope.”
For more information, visit www.newhopecelebrates.com.