Details and Pride events in NYC
Montclair’s newest festival, Pride 2022, spearheaded by OUT Montclair, is not starting small.
The big day is June 11, when downtown Montclair will feature stages on Bloomfield Avenue and Park Street with all-day comedy, music and drag-queen performances; an evening concert at the Wellmont featuring Jordy and Fab The Duo and headliner Betty Who will cap off the festival. Admission is free, save for the evening concert, which requires a ticket.
But the warm-up starts next Thursday, June 2, with a party at the Montclair Art Museum, followed by fun runs, doughnut decorating, workouts, drag variety shows — even a scripture reading.
“We are excited about Montclair’s first-ever Pride festival,” said Peter Yacobellis, a councilman who founded Out Montclair a year ago. “We think our festival will be one of the biggest in the state, if not the biggest.”
He expects as many as 15,000 people, with more than 100 restaurants, artisans and nonprofits at booths along South Park and Church streets, and a beer garden featuring Montclair Brewery’s signature, “Pride Beer.”
“There will be tons of activities for people and families — arts and crafts, games, contests, giveaways,” he said. “Also, resource booths from advocacy organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the Montclair Animal Shelter, and HIV testing,” he said.
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But the purpose of the festival goes beyond having fun, said Yacobellis. The councilman, who last year told NorthJersey.com about his struggles as a young gay man, said Pride events were where he discovered “I wasn’t alone, and all of the resources that were available to me.”
“LGBTQ+ Pride events help people in our community feel safe, be themselves and develop self-esteem,” he said.
That need for support is greater than ever, he said, citing the sharp rise in calls to crisis centers by LBGTQ+ youth; the “appalling” treatment of trans youth and their parents in Texas; the banning of books on LGBTQ+ subjects, and the increase in laws across that country prohibiting schools from discussing topics of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Montclair Pride lineup
Thursday, June 2: Evening opening event at the Montclair Art Museum, celebrating queer artists, dancers, musicians and DJs, is free, with an optional VIP fundraiser reception with artist Kyle Meyer beforehand.
Friday, June 3 is movie night, with a free outdoor showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Lackawanna Plaza and a performance by the Ordinary Kids, a troupe made up of diehard fans of the classic camp musical.
Saturday, June 4, to Monday, June 6. Local gyms, such as D*FIT, Guerrilla Fitness, Juniper, the YMCA and The Row House are sponsoring “Pride Workouts.”
Monday, June 6 is a Drag Queen variety show at Vanguard Theater, with a “PG first act and a Spicy second act.”
Tuesday, June 7: “Reading Scripture with Pride” at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, sponsored by the Montclair Interfaith Clergy Association, will feature a discussion between clergy and LGBTQ+ people of faith on their experiences, and why scripture should not be…
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