The NWPA Pride Alliance is giving their Pride on the Bay event a new home.
The NWPA Pride Alliance announced that because of growing safety concerns, Erie Pridefest, also called Pride on the Bay, will be moved from downtown Erie to Liberty Park and the Highmark Amphitheater at 726 W. Bayfront Parkway.
“It just fit our needs (and was) the best of the options we had available,” said Alex Sphon, President of the NWPA Pride Alliance. “This allows us to have better control of who’s allowed into the park and to keep some of the actors we’ve had over the years at bay.”
As they change venues, the Pride Alliance also hopes to keep the Pride traditions alive.
“We’re having a show, but we’re also about having just shy of 130 vendors that are local who are info tables, queer specific," Sphon said. "So our Pride is really about connecting resources with the queer community in a manner that you don’t typically see in the larger cities. While we’re moving, it’s going to look like a bigger city Pride, we’re keeping the root of what keeps Erie Pride, Erie Pride.”
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NWPA Pride Alliance is also looking for volunteers to help with simple tasks, such as cleaning up and moving tables, at Pride on the Bay. Sign-up opportunities can be found on their website, nwpapride.org.
What is Pride Month?
According to the Library of Congress, Pride month is celebrated in the month of June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising which was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.
The movement originally began as a day of celebration but then grew in major cities across the U.S. to encompass monthlong events for the LGBTQ+ community.
Change of date for Pride parade
With a new venue also comes a new date for the Pride parade. The pride parade usually precedes Pride Fest, but this year the parade will be moved to June 30 while taking the same route from State and 11th streets to Perry Square.
“I’m looking forward to creating a safe space for the queer community,” Sphon said. “What is great for me is hearing someone say, ‘this is a space I can go to and feel welcome independent of what is happening in the communities.’ So I like to create that community outside of a space that doesn’t welcome everybody.”
Pride happy hour and other upcoming events
For Pride Month, NWPA Pride Alliance is launching a new monthly Queer Happy Hour at Oasis Pub, 3122 West Lake Road. The happy hour will take place the first Wednesday of every month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is open to everyone, however anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian and anyone under the age of 21 will not be served alcohol.
To conclude the summer, the Pride Alliance will hold its 31st annual Pride Picnic Aug. 10 at the Rotary Pavilion at Presque Isle State Park.
Other events, including Pride Day at Waldameer and Pride Night at an Erie Otters game, will be announced later this year.
Drag queens part of Pride
The Zone, a queer bar and dance club in Erie, will bring out the drag queens for the month of June.
The Zone, 133 West 18th St., will host Pride Month events throughout June, as listed below with other Pride events going on around the area.
Other Pride events in and near Erie
- June 9: A Brunch of Drag hosted by DJ Tony G & Alysin Wonderland at The Zone.
- June 21:40 Shades of Purple presented by Compton’s Table at the Erie Art Museum, 20 E. fifth St.
- June 26:DIY Pride Craft Night at Werner Books and Coffee, 3608 Liberty St., from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- June 27: Get Top Roped by a Queen at Ascend Erie, 426 State St., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- June 27: Pride Night with the Erie SeaWolves at 6:05 p.m. at UPMC Park, 110 E. 10th St.
- June 28: Divas Pride 2024 hosted by Misty Michaels Kay at The Zone starting at 8 p.m.
- July 27: NWPA Pride Alliance returns to Meadville for their third annual Meadville Pride and Street Fair.
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You can learn more about these events by following NWPA Pride Alliance on social media, including Facebook and Instagram.
If you know of any other Pride events going on in Erie around Pride Month, please let us know at nsorensen@gannett.com.
