“We evolve as a people, and the way that we understand these things evolves,” said Seth Wallace, executive chairman and one of the organizers behind Pride New Haven. “There’s been an explosion in the way we think about and talk about these things.”
Wallace was talking about how the conversation about LGBTQ issues has changed in the past few years — and how Pride New Haven, the Elm City’s celebration of its LGBTQ community, is changing in response.
Pride New Haven’s chain of events starts on Friday at 5 p.m., with an opening at City Hall that will feature a photo exhibition and remarks from Mayor Toni Harp. There will then be a march to the New Haven Pride Center at 84 Orange St. The Center will host an open house that will eventually morph into Gotham Gay Nites (at the same location), which will have the patio open from 7 to 9 p.m.
Saturday will see Pride New Haven throwing a block party at the corner of Orange and Center from 4 p.m. until who knows when. (The party will, in time, move inside to Gotham.) It’ll feature vendors, musicians, dance and drag performances, and games all day. “Last year we got blow-up Twister,” Wallace said. “It was so fun” (see picture.) Finally, Pride New Haven will announce nominees for its Dorothy Awards for activism.
Pride New Haven doesn’t officially wind down until Sunday at 5 p.m., with an evening at 168 York Street Cafe, featuring a buffet dinner and more entertainment. Tickets for that event are $19.95.
In addition, said Wallace, Pride New Haven is scheduling education events along with the party. On Saturday at 2 p.m. at the New Haven Free Public Library, LGBTQ+ Youth Kickback will present #SPEAKFORYRSELF: Queer and Trans Youth Speak Out, featuring personal stories and artmaking. This should “transition nicely into the block party.” Monday has a film screening of Boys Don’t Cry at the Loria Center at 190 York St.; a discussion with the film’s director, Kimberly Peirce, follows. Tuesday, Wallace himself is presenting a workshop at the LGBTQ Resource Center at Yale.
“And that’s it!” Wallace said. “And then I’m going to sleep. Wedensday: Seth takes a nap.”
“They,” “Hir,” “Ze.”
Pride New Haven comes together thanks to a lot of people and organizations in town working, as Wallace said, “in the spirit of future collaborative work. Now is really the best time for everyone to come together and have the same conversation.”
“Pride has a long history in the city. It’s been going on since 1988,” Wallace said, though the celebration went on a hiatus of a couple years. So “last year, when we had it, it was sort of a return to Pride.”
Meanwhile, things have changed dramatically for the LGBTQ community since Pride began. Even as the Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage, the questions about what sexual identity means — “about who you can be and how you can be it,” as Wallace put it — have become both more complex and more promising. “When I was growing up,” Wallace said, “there was not a lot of talk about trans-gender anything. Now it’s much more acceptable and visible. Many youth identify as gender non-binary and want new pronouns.”
Seth Wallace Photo
Pride New Haven 2014.
“The language we use to express our identity is changing. The horizons of the community are expanding,” Wallace said. “What kind of space do we need to create for them to encourage well-being?”
This line of thought has led to an expansive and generous understanding about what Pride New Haven stands for, what is being celebrated, and how a bigger, stronger community can be built.
“There is not a single person in the world who does not know what it feels like to feel judged, or disregarded, or disrespected, because of who they are and how they choose to show that to the world,” Wallace said. “I really see the need to be inclusive in our representation, and we can take steps to move toward that.”
Pride New Haven weekend runs from Friday to Sunday. Visit the event’s Facebook page for more information.