Boston Pride may have postponed its 50th anniversary Parade and Festival until next year (the official date will be June 12, 2021), but organizers have just announced their line-up of virtual events to celebrate this year’s Pride month in Boston.
And they’re asking everyone to “Show Your Pride!” … and not just online.
Highlights include a Virtual Pride Lights, starting at 6 p.m. on June 9, when Boston Pride will stream the annual lighting of Blackstone Park, lighting up in pink lights the water fountains in both Blackstone and Franklin Square parks to commemorate all those we’ve lost too soon to AIDS. Verna Turbulence hosts, and they’re be performances by Queens with a Mission and the LGBTQI all-male dance Crew and Boston’s protest choir Vocal Opposition. … And a Virtual Pride Festival & Concert on June 13, more details on that to come.
Here’s the “Show Your Pride” part:
Boston Pride encourages everyone to show their Pride by decorating their windows, doors, porches, yards, cars, neighborhoods and (especially) their pets for traditional Pride weekend, June 12–14. Share photos of yourself, friends, family, and/or household wearing your Pride outfits and displaying your Pride decorations. Tag us @bostonpride in your Instagram stories and use the hashtag #wickedproud on Facebook and Twitter! We can’t wait to see the sea of rainbows!
And here’s the June 2020 Line-Up — “a series of virtual events for the month of June that will bring LGBTQ people together to commemorate 50 years of Pride in Boston, to honor the network of care that comprises the LGBTQ community and to celebrate the always fabulous and multi-faceted expressions of LGBTQ culture”:
The month of virtual Pride events will begin with the traditional annual raising of the rainbow pride flag by the City of Boston on Friday, June 5. A full and detailed list of events can be found on the Virtual Pride page.
Events range from panel discussions, to cooking classes, to dance lessons. Key events for Boston Pride include:
- June 5, Raising of the rainbow pride flag on City Hall Plaza, 12pm
- June 5, Author Talk with the Boston Public Library: Eric Cervini of “The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America”
- June 7, Forum: The Rich History of LGBTQ Bars in Boston
- June 8, Panel: LGBTQ Veterans Tell Their Stories
- June 9, Pride Lights – commemorates those affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic
- June 13, Pride Festival and Concert
The annual Boston Pride Guide will also be going virtual with a digital version available on the Boston Pride website on June 5.
“Each year, over a million people line the streets of Boston to watch the annual Pride Parade, attend the free concert and Festival, and partake in block parties and numerous other Pride events. The COVID pandemic means that the Pride celebration will come to you this year,” said Boston Pride President Linda J. DeMarco.
“I am incredibly proud of Boston’s LGBTQ community for coming together to find creative ways to spread the message of Pride throughout Pride Week. Our virtual events are designed so everyone can participate from the safety of their homes. We know these events cannot replace the excitement of being together in person, but they will help us stay connected, remember our history, and remain strong during these times of physical distancing,” said DeMarco.
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