POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Pride Center (DCPC) has once again selected the City of Poughkeepsie as the site of the annual Pride Parade and associated activities for June.
The DCPC has a full month of activities planned with the parade and festival being the most popular event. June is “Pride Month” commemorating the “Stonewall Uprising” that took place in June 1969 in New York City.
The parade and festival are taking place on June 10. This year’s theme is “Growing Our Future Together” with the lineup occurring on Market Street and stepping off at noon, traveling west on Main Street to Waryas Park for the post-parade festival. This year’s Grand Marshals are Alexander Johns, James Rubenstein, and Neo Ng.
“In this time when the LGBTQ+ community is being attacked all over the country, visibility has become so much more vital,” said DCPC Executive Director Karen Marder. “People need to be reminded that no matter what, the LGBTQ+ people are here and are not going anywhere.” In explaining this year’s theme, Marder told Mid-Hudson News “In 2018, when the Dutchess County Pride Center held our first groups for LGBTQ+ teens, we were parents who were trying to create a safe for our children and other teens to express themselves freely.” Marder noted that the group’s vision was that one day, their children would be the Grand Marshals. “To acknowledge their growth and the growth of Dutchess Pride, we created the theme of “Growing Our Future Together” We have come so far and we continue to look towards the future and continue to grow.”
Poughkeepsie Mayor Marc Nelson embraced the return of the parade. “The city is grateful the Dutchess County Pride Center has once again chosen Poughkeepsie as the appropriate place to hold this uplifting event that celebrates diversity and the progress that has been made in the fight for gay rights. This parade is, indeed, a celebration, but it is also a reminder of the struggle by so many to rightly insist on dignity and respect for one another as individuals living in a larger community.”
For information on the full schedule of Pride Month events, visit the DCPC website.
