Pride Month in NEPA

MELISSA M. JANOSKI, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·3 min read

The region’s LGBTQ+ community is celebrating Pride Month with a parade, a drag pageant and educational events.

The biggest event is the Northeast Pennsylvania PrideFest Parade & Celebration: Love Out Loud, in Wilkes-Barre on June 23.

“We’ve now become one of the biggest events that Wilkes-Barre celebrates and l think it is great to see the amount of support that outpours for the "LGBTQIA+ community,” said Shea Hughes, who recently became executive director of the Rainbow Alliance. “It's wonderful to see all the nonprofits and the local businesses that like to come out and support and show that they are willing and ready to support and be true allies at all times.”

The only pride parade in the region steps off at noon and heads to Public Square, where there will be performances, speakers, vendors and organizations’ tables. The event runs until 4 p.m.

An addition to the PrideFest will be a mass wedding on the main stage.

“I think it is important, especially considering gay marriage hasn’t been legalized for all that long,” Hughes said. “It seems like a while ago, but it really has only been about 10 years now and it was important for us to be able to represent the community.”

The ceremony requires a Pennsylvania marriage license and will be conducted by the company Ceremonies by Lori. It is not necessary to be a Pennsylvania resident. Already married couples are welcome to join the ceremony to symbolically renew their vows. The wedding is free, but donations to the Rainbow Alliance are welcome. For information, visit rainbowalliance.org/pridefest.

The Wright Center is the presenting sponsor for the weekend, which includes a drag pageant in Scranton on June 22.

Other events include:

The Oscar-winning movie "Milk" will be shown free twice Wednesday at the Dietrich Theater, Tunkhannock. The first showing is at 1 p.m. The 6:30 showing is part of a larger event, with resource tables and a panel discussion after the movie. The movie stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, a California activist and the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. He was assassinated in 1978.

The 4th Annual Stride for Pride 5K Run and Virtual Event is Saturday on the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail at 9 a.m. It is a joint project of Queer NEPA and Action Together. For information, visit runsignup.com/Race/PA/Scranton/StrideforPridePA.

Also Saturday, the Big Gay StorySlam, a project of the Scranton Fringe Festival, will be at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station Hotel, Scranton, at 7 p.m. Regional comedian and two-time StorySlam winner Mary Rapach will emcee. For information, visit scrantonfringe.org/events/the-big-gay-storyslam-2024.

On June 12, a drag event to aid the NEPA Youth Shelter in Scranton will be held at Ole Tyme Charley’s Pub & Grill in Plains Twp.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre will host its first LBGTQ Educational Symposium in conjunction with NEPA Pride Coalition on June 14. The event, headlined by keynote speaker Tony Brooks, a Wilkes-Barre city councilman, historian and advocate, will be held on campus from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For information, visit wilkesbarre.psu.edu/ce/personal-enrichment/lgbtqia-symposium.

Northeast Pennsylvania Regional HIV Services will tour three communities with a local version of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, handmade in 2009. A display at the Sordoni Art Gallery in Wilkes-Barre, from June 18-23, will be bookended by shorter visits to Scranton and Dallas. For the schedule, see the group’s Facebook page.

June 18 is Pride Night at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders game at PNC Field in Moosic.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania PrideFest Royale Pageant drag competition is June 22 at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center, Scranton. It is held by the Rainbow Alliance.