Vermont takes Pride: Events celebrate LGBTQ+ community throughout June
The rest of the country might think Vermont is a staid state, one with cows that “moo” lazily and taciturn people who say even less.
Those of us who live here, though, know we love a good party. June is Pride month, which means the next few weeks will be filled with events celebrating the LGBTQ+ community throughout Vermont.
Looking for parades? Films? Comedy? Author talks? Dance parties? Drag performances? All of those will be happening in June. There’s even a Pride-themed train ride making its way the length of the state. Read on to find a Pride celebration (or several) that’ll make your month a colorful one.
Pride of Woodstock debuts
Thursday, May 30-Sunday, June 2, the first-ever Pride of Woodstock gets an early start on Pride Month with events including a screening of the film “The Birdcage” at Pentangle Arts (7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30, $8-$10), a classic-sounds dance party at the Village Inn (7-10 p.m. Friday, May 31, free), a “Made with Pride” arts and crafts fair on the green (10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 1, free), a high-heel race on Elm Street (10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 1, free) and the comedy show “Funny with Pride” featuring Vicki Ferentinos, Shawn Hollenbach, Kevin McTaggart and Will Herman at The Grange Theater, South Pomfret (8 p.m. Saturday, June 1, $25). www.woodstockvt.com/pride--of-woodstock-vermont
Essex Junction holds second Pride festival
1-5 p.m. Saturday, June 1, the second-annual Essex Pride Festival at Maple Street Park begins with a parade, followed by Drag Story Hour, performances by local youth and other artists, and a concluding family dance party culminating at 7 p.m. with an 18-and-over afterparty at Uncommon Coffee in Essex. Donations accepted. www.essexvtpride,org
Queer film festival in Montpelier
11 a.m. Sunday, June 2, Montpelier Pride and the Savoy Theater begin a Queer Film Festival with the drama “Ma Vie en Rose,” followed at 1:30 p.m. by the comedy “But I’m a Cheerleader” and a dress-up party inspired by the movie; 4 p.m., the documentary “Little Richard – I Am Everything” delving into the life and career of the musician; and “Break the Game,” about a trans gamer out to break a record. Other screenings are, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, the documentary “Before Stonewall,” and at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, the documentary “Every Body,” detailing the stories of three intersex people. $12.50-$15 per film. www.savoytheater.com or www.pridecentervt.org/event/queer-film-fest/
Vermont cartoonist laureate speaks
6 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, Vermont’s cartoonist laureate, Tillie Walden, discusses “Comics and Queerness in VT and Beyond,” Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. www.pridecentervt.org
Bellows Falls screens Pride movies
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, Bellows Falls Pride offers films each Wednesday this month, starting with “The Birdcage” and followed June 12 by “Philadelphia,” June 19 by “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar” and June 26 by “Hairspray,” Bellows Falls Opera House. $6 per film. www.bellowsfallsoperahouse.com
Pride comes to St. Albans
Friday, June 7-Sunday, June 9, the first Pride Weekend presented by the St. Albans Pride Corps features a Friday night drag show, a Saturday parade leading into Taylor Park, vendors, food trucks and a family picnic day on Sunday among other activities. Free. www.pridecentervt.org
Riding the Pride train
9:15 a.m. Saturday, June 8, the second-annual Pride Whistlestop Tour departs the Amtrak station in St. Albans and makes stops where riders will be greeted with flags and celebrations at 9:44 a.m. in Essex Junction, 10:10 a.m. in Waterbury, 10:25 a.m. in Montpelier, 10:59 a.m. in Randolph, 11:35 a.m. in White River Junction, 11:56 a.m. in Windsor, 12:06 p.m. in Claremont, New Hampshire, 12:30 p.m. in Bellows Falls and 1:02 p.m. in Brattleboro. https://shadarko1.wixsite.com/bellowsfallspride/whistlestop
Baking with Pride in Barre
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 8, “Barre Pride: Baked with Love” has, not surprisingly, a bake sale, but also offers drag performers, a Pride ride, food trucks and more, Barre City Hall Park. Donations accepted. www.pridecentervt.org
Pair of films in Burlington
7 p.m. Friday, June 14, the first of two Pride-themed films aired this month by the Vermont International Film Festival, the 1931 German movie "Madchen in Uniform," tells a love story set in a girls boarding school, and is followed at 7 p.m. Friday, June 21 by "The Queen," a documentary about a 1967 drag competition, The Screening Room at VTIFF, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington. $5-$10 per film. www.vtiff.org
Talk on ‘The Mob & Stonewall’
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 19, the Duxbury Historical Society presents a talk by historical crime writer Alex Hortis on the topic “The Mob & Stonewall: Unraveling the Mafia’s Influence in the 1969 Uprising,” Waterbury Congregational Church. Free; reservations requested. www.duxburyvt.com
‘My Fabulous Disease’ author speaks
7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20, Mark S. King, author of the book “My Fabulous Disease,” discusses sexual politics, addiction and AIDS and his life with HIV for nearly 40 years, Bellows Falls Opera House. Free; reservations recommended. www.bellowsfallsoperahouse.com
A day of Pride in Rutland
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 22, this year’s Rutland County Pride Festival offers six hours of activities, with details to be announced. www.rcpride.org
Newport gets festive
Noon-4 p.m. Sunday, June 23, the Northeast Kingdom Rainbow Coalition hosts its Pride Fest that includes a parade and an afterparty at Eden Specialty Ciders, Newport. Free. www.nekrc.com
Springfield winds down Pride month
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 29, Pride month nears its close with a Springfield Pride event featuring entertainment to be announced. www.pridecenter.vt.org
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont Pride events celebrate LGBTQ+ community throughout June
