The Lancaster LGBT community will now have even more opportunities to celebrate Pride.
For the first time, Lancaster Pride is featuring a full week of activities, June 19-25.
Karen Foley, one of the Pride organizers, said the expansion was prompted by the wave of anti-LGBT sentiment in the current administration.
“It’s in response to this nightmare of a political climate we’re living in,” Foley said. “We wanted to have a week of an unapologetically gay celebration. We’re in the thick of it out here in Trump country; outside of Lancaster, you drive five minutes and it’s all Trump land — confederate flags and everything. So we figured we need a week of joy and celebration.”
Included on the Pride lineup is a new film festival, with “Kiki” and “How to Survive a Plague” playing on alternate days at Zoetropolis Art House, 315 W. James St. The June 23 screening of “Kiki” will be followed by a Q&A with star Chi Chi Mizrahi, who will also perform at an after-party that night and lead a vogue workshop the next day.
Other events include a fundraising celebrity-bartending party June 21 featuring local LGBT leaders, a salsa night June 22 and a drag brunch June 25. The annual festival kicks off at 12:30 p.m. that day at Binns Park, 100 N. Queen St., with performances, vendors, food and more. Among the Pride after-parties is a free youth event at Fruition Collective, 24 W. Walnut St.
While the new film festival and related programming are expected to draw in new Pride-goers, Foley said Lancaster Pride is always a hit with LGBTs and allies from throughout the region.
“Our pride is surprisingly big for a small town,” she said. “We pull in a lot of people, and it’s always fun to see people come out and see what Lancaster has to offer.”
For more information on Lancaster Pride, visit www.centralpalgbtcenter.org/lancaster-pride.