LGBTs and allies will be partying in the park this weekend in Reading.
The eighth-annual Reading Pride will run noon-6 p.m. July 20 at Centre Park.
Reading Pride Celebration President Richard Spangler said about 3,000 people are expected to attend the festivities, headlined by Maxine Nightingale. There will also be performances from local theater and dance groups, as well as drag entertainers. About 70 vendors will be on hand, offering artisan wares, LGBT resources, health screenings and wedding-planning tips.
The festival will pay tribute to the recent ruling legalizing marriage equality in Pennsylvania with two weddings.
Organizers put out a call on social media for couples looking to tie the knot at the event, and two lesbian couples signed up to be part of the historic celebration.
“Once we knew marriage was going to be a sure thing, and the governor was not going to appeal, we decided that it was almost a natural thing for a wedding to be part of the Pride event,” Spangler said. “We were lucky enough that we had two couples come forth who wanted to be married there.”
In addition to marriage equality generating excitement, Spangler said the festivities will also be boosted by two new partnerships — with the Reading Fightin’ Phils and the Reading Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The minor-league baseball team launched its first LGBT night last year and is bringing the event back Aug. 4. The team and Pride organizers have worked closely together to generate interest in both events.
The tourism group has also been an important ally, Spangler said.
“We had talked to them before about how we should try to do something with them and the LGBT community and then everything started to happen last year with the marriage decisions, and then after Pennsylvania became a marriage-equality state, it went into high gear,” said Spangler.
He added the bureau is now working on a potential initiative that will distribute window stickers for LGBT-friendly businesses to denote their support.
Spangler said the new ally support reflects an overall trend in Reading.
“There are a lot of really, really good things going on in the city of Reading. Even where we hold the festival — it’s in the historic district and it’s an absolutely beautiful park surrounded by old Victorian rowhomes. Reading itself has so much to offer.”
There will be a pre-Pride party at 6 p.m. July 18 at Riveredge, 2017 Bernville Road, and a post-Pride party at 6 p.m. July 20 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1741 Papermill Road in Wyomissing.
For more information, visit www.readingpridecelebration.org.