Following several years of nothing happening, an LGBT Pride rally is planned for later this month at the Old State House.
The event on June 26th will mark 33 years since the first Pride in Connecticut. There will be a re-enactment of the Blue Berets’ picket line, something seen at the first Pride in 1982.
The rally, from 5-7 p.m. is free and open to all ages.
A more entertainment-focused festival is slated for September 12, 2015. The last time we saw any Pride event happen in Hartford, it was held in the fall, apparently to coincide with the anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Connecticut. Despite having an openly gay mayor, this popular Pride event had vanished during most of his tenure. Mayor Segarra’s husband serves as president for CLARO’s board of directors; CLARO is the non-profit organizing the rally and festival.
Richard
A beautiful diverse group of people have come together this year, and have formed two committees one for the June Pride rally and one for the September festival. When one reviews ourstories from 1982 to the present day we find that only by an untied effort of LGBTQ people and their allies have we been able to accomplish so much. Our dear comrade and long time friend Dr. Richard Stillson, aka. Mucha Mucha is the chair of the rally committee for 2015. Mucha’s involvement with our community goes back many years not only chairing many PRIDE committees but also at one time the Connecticut Coalition for LGBT Civil Rights and the mother of the House of Pleasure.
Queeerstory workshop will be debuting two new works. One will be “Who ever knew in 82’, a short speak out on LGBTQ stories and where we have come from and where we are now. The other will be as noted in the article a re-enactment of the Blue Beret, (those notorious religious extremists) picket line which happened at PRIDE in 1982. Folks who were at PRIDE in 1982 and others will be forming the line with direct quotes of the political and religious right then and now. We hope that many of you will come out to PRIDE and celebrate our many advances and to take note of how far many of us still have to go. The journey is not over even though to many it seems that way.