To celebrate Pride Month 2019, the City of Hallowell hosted a series of Pride events, including an LGBTQ+ and Ally Youth Dance at City Hall, a Pride parade, a festival, a drag show, and a Pride breakfast at Slates Restaurant.
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA) staff members April Hughes and Catherine Gross were among many participants at Granite City Park for the festival on that bright and blustery Saturday. Youth, adults, and community members circulated through the park and admired the brightly-colored wares, posed for photo-ops beneath the rainbow balloon arch along the Kennebec River, and perused the Pride flags along the walkway. HCCA sponsored a youth booth, which hosted a t-shirt decorating activity that people of all ages were able to enjoy! Thanks to Tobacco Innovation funding and University of New England support, festival-goers could make and take a free t-shirt that read #Resilient, along with a bottle of water.
The amount of positive energy, community connectedness, and genuine care and support displayed at the Pride festivities was inspiring!
How did we make this happen?
HCCA partnered with the Hallowell Pride Committee. By providing the MIYHS data showing the increased level of substance-use risk for LGBT youth, HCCA convinced pride committee members to increase youth-focused activities. Changes to make Pride more youth-friendly included moving the Drag Show to an earlier hour to increase youth attendance, offering free, non-alcoholic drinks to youth during Pride, and sponsoring a chem-free dance. The committee also invited HCCA back to be a Pride planning member in the future!
Looking for more information?
Read the article “The Complete Guide to Queer Pride Flags” for an explanation of what each of the Pride flags means
Contact April Hughes, a.hughes@hccame.org
