Pride Worcester Festival unfolds with a rainbow of celebration and music

WORCESTER — Downtown Worcester was a rising rainbow of celebration Saturday afternoon as the annual Pride Worcester Festival began to unfold in a kaleidoscope of colors and music.

The opening act, drag artist and vocalist Cortana Wednesday, got the proceedings underway on a somewhat gray, cloudy and windy September day around 3:20 p.m.

Taking the stage set up on Franklin Street, Wednesday said "come up to the front everybody. Happy Pride."

It had not seemed that the initial crowds were that large, but all of a sudden Franklin Street had a packed audience moving to the music as Wednesday sang a refrain of "touch me baby" to a pulsating recorded beat. Where a couple of individuals had been up front, now there were rows of revelers.

Soon the whole event was awash with people — many in colorful costumes including some draped in rainbow flags — on Worcester Common and Franklin Street. The clouds did not lighten, but the mood was bright.

Organizers were expecting a crowd of more than 10,000 over the course of the festival which was scheduled to run to 8 p.m. The event featured live music, drag performances and DJ sets on the main Franklin Street stage, as well as more than 200 craft vendors, community organizations and food trucks. A kids’ zone included a bounce house, cotton candy and games, and sponsors such as Stop & Shop and Hannaford distributed free samples.

State and local officials gave greetings with a speaker schedule that included state Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll and Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell. "We're making sure everyone can live in our community inclusive and well loved," Driscoll said. For those who also celebrate Boston Pride, Worcester Pride makes it "twice the fun," she noted.

The event would be the first Pride Worcester Festival appearance for drag artist Darren Tashine of Providence although Tashine has been at other events here.

"I love it. It's such a joyful scene," Tashine said while looking around at the happenings an hour or so before performing. "People having a safe, joyful place to share with each other."

People dressed to express themselves including Seth Braday of Worcester who wore a dress. "Just the freedom to come out and be yourself for the day and just have fun," Braday said. Braday's nephew was also at the festival, as they checked out various vendor tents.

Worcester drag artist Mal E. Fishn’t, who has performed at the Pride Worcester Festival several times including in 2018 as the winner of that year’s Pride Worcester Pageant, was the host of the event on the stage. "Worcester how we doing? So happy to have you here for Worcester Pride," Fishn't said to the audience after Wednesday's performance.

Pride Worcester director of development David Conner told people, "Please have a great time ... We have a spectacular show for you."

The festival was the largest of this year's Pride Worcester events which began August 17 with the Pride Worcester Pageant in Mechanics Hall. Other happenings have included a Pride flag-raising outside Worcester City Hall August 30 and the Queer AF Art & Fashion show at Mechanics Hall held Friday evening when volunteer models from across Worcester County walked the runway to showcase pieces by Massachusetts fashion designers.

Well-known local jazz vocalist Dale LePage, who was named First Majesty of Pride Worcester Pageant August 17, said in an interview after he had performed in drag that the festival is "a celebration of love, inclusiveness and togetherness. Worcester has come a long way. It's still got a long way to go but I'm so proud to be part of Worcester Pride." He gave a "shout out to my husband of 41 years."

Drag is a new departure for LePage who felt motivated to do something in the aftermath of a brief drag show at a conference in Sutton, which school officials said was followed by bomb threats against the school and death threats against school leadership.

LePage said Saturday he will spend the next 12 months doing fundraising events for Worcester Pride.

The 2024 edition of Pride Worcester will continue this week with several other events including Pride at the Park with the Worcester Red Sox Friday. For complete information, visit prideworcester.org.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Pride Worcester Festival unfolds with a rainbow of celebration, music