Putnam Pride will host its fourth annual Pride event June 24 in Brewster Village.
Participants are invited to join the festivities beginning at 1 p.m., including music, dancing, and speakers on the steps of the Old Town Hall on Main Street. A march to Wells Park will begin at about 1:45 p.m.
At Wells, there will be entertainment by local artists, food, face painting, an open mic and dozens of vendors. Local celebrity entertainers Angel Elektra and ShayD’Pines will be the hosts for the third year in a row.
Putnam Pride’s mission is to promote visibility and community for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups in Putnam and neighboring counties. As part of its effort to collaborate and support other grassroots organizations, Putnam Pride made a donation of $300 this year to the Community Alliance for Empowerment, a parent-led organization that has been integral in efforts to implement diversity, equity and inclusion programming in Carmel Central School District in recent months.
CAFÉ’s mission is “to build a better community through mindfulness, inclusiveness and cultivating relationships that promote togetherness and kindness” – in Carmel schools and beyond.
Putnam Pride will make another donation to a local organization this year, if funds allow.
“In 2023, anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry and defamatory rhetoric has been escalating both locally and nationally, in the schools and in the wider community,” said Eileen McDermott of Putnam Pride. “On June 24, LGBTQ+ residents of Putnam and allies have a chance to stand together against such hate and to reiterate that we will not be silenced or made invisible by threats of violence or fabricated and slanderous accusations.”
Last year’s Pride event drew more than 200 attendees and included an array of local performers, speakers and vendors. Brewster’s Chief of Police described it as “a joyous day in the village.”
Putnam NY Pride is a registered 501c(3) organization. For more information, visit www.putnampride.com.