New Britain Pride Group Organizing LGBT Events
By Robin Vinci at July 27, 2024 | 2:43 pm | Print
A new group is forming and planning lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) events for next June which is Gay Pride Month. Among the events being planned are a proclamation and a Gay Pride Parade.
“I was in New York Pride in June and it popped into my head that we in New Britain don’t have anything,” said John Board, who has been organizing the event along Kenneth Haas. “New Britain is the right City at the right time to host such an event.”
Board, who worked in Mayor Erin Stewart’s office for about six months, said this is not a political event. It is an American event and a quintessential New Britain celebration.
Gay pride or LGBT pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance. June is known as Gay Pride Month.
Events, such as Gay Pride Parades are held throughout the world during this month.
On Saturday, June 27, 1970, Chicago Gay Liberation organized a march from Washington Square Park to the Water Tower at the intersection of Michigan and Chicago avenues, which was the route originally planned, and then many of the participants extemporaneously marched on to the Civic Center Plaza. The date was chosen because the Stonewall events began on the last Saturday of June and because organizers wanted to reach the maximum number of Michigan Avenue shoppers. Subsequent Chicago parades have been held on the last Sunday of June, coinciding with the date of many similar parades elsewhere, according to wikipedia.com.
On the West Coast of the United States held a march in Los Angeles on June 28, 2024 and a march and ‘Gay-in’ in San Francisco.
Board said everyone will be invited to take part in New Britain.
“We even want the Polish community so we can put a New Britski spin on pride,” Board said. “I have always put massive projects on my plate. I am hoping as a community we can come together and pull this off.”
The first meeting is Thursday, July 27 at City Hall in Room 201 at 5 p.m. Right now there are about 15 or so people who are involved in the planning committee.
“On social media we have 75 likes and over 600 people have reached out. I am hoping many people will turn out and we will be surprised,” said Board. “The first meeting is really an organizational meeting set up in place. We need to figure out how we are going to do this. We want to bring LGBT pride to New Britain.”
Board said he will be talking to businesses for help and others as well as nationally.
“I have fallen in love with the City. When I worked for the Mayor I saw this is a very special City. This is making sure New Britain is inviting and welcoming,” Board said, who is from Redding. “No City holds a candle to the diversity and inclusivity of New Britain. I hope to eventually move to the City. It’s like none I have ever been to.”
“John is a motivated young man with a lot of energy. When he approached me with the idea of creating New Britain Pride Month and doing a whole bunch of events around Gay Pride and LGBT rights, I fell in love with the idea,” said Mayor Erin Stewart. “I am looking forward to participating in all the events.”
The preliminary plan has the parade marching the traditional route from Broad Street to Main Street next June. It will be built around already existing events in June, such as the Rose Garden Festival, so it does not interfere.
“It’s all in the infancy,” he said. “In the next 8 or 9 months we will pull it all together.”
For more information email [email protected] or like the group on facebook at New Britain Pride or twitter and instagram.
