Escape the city this weekend and head north for one of Bucks County’s biggest annual celebrations, the New Hope Celebrates Pride parade and festival.
Only about an hour away from Philly, the event — which for the second year in a row will be held across two states — kicked off last weekend, with parties, socials and outings all week. The not-to-be-missed parade will take place starting 11:30 a.m. May 16. To commence the festivities, a 100-foot rainbow flag will be carried across the bridge from Lambertville, N.J., into New Hope. Last year, approximately 15,000 people attended the parade.
This year’s theme, “Come out and be yourself,” will promote awareness and visibility of the LGBT community in Bucks County.
“We wanted the theme this year to really highlight the diversity of our community,” said New Hope Celebrates president Sharon Fronabarger. “We try not to be too political with our message but who can fault us for promoting fairness and diversity?”
New to the festival this year is “Rocks Out @ Pride,” a weeklong cocktail contest sponsored by Bacardi Rum. Participating bars have been challenged to come up with the best cocktail and Pride participants will vote to decide the winner.
The vendor fair and “Rock the Block Party” will once again follow the parade, headlined by all-female rock group Antigone Rising. Additional performances will take place throughout the afternoon by Christine Martucci, Eryn Woods, Jason Walker and Josh Zuckerman. A $10 donation is requested to help pay for entertainers.
“We have been hard at work all year pulling everything together to prepare a great lineup for attendees this year,” Fronabarger said. “Each year we have our Pride festival to highlight and celebrate the inclusiveness of New Hope.
“But I am really excited about what has become our cornerstone event, the walking of the rainbow flag across the Lambertville-New Hope bridge,” she added.
The tradition began last year as a way to symbolically bring marriage equality to Pennsylvania. Coincidentally, marriage equality became legal in the state three days later.
“It was breathtaking to see the giant flag come across the bridge,” Fronabarger said. “As far as I know, this makes us the only Pride parade to cross state lines. Although a great deal of progress has been made in terms of marriage equality, more work is necessary to have a world free from discrimination and hate. We must continue to raise awareness.”
Other entertainment highlights include Well Strung, the singing string quartet 8 p.m. May 15 at Bucks County Playhouse; Glow dance party and fundraiser 9 p.m.-2 a.m. May 16 at The Raven; and the annual Pride T-Dance 4-9 p.m. May 17 at The Raven.
For more information and a complete listing of events, visit www.newhopecelebrates.com.