Newport Pride is officially returning after a pandemic-induced hiatus with two big festivities planned to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month.
“In the beginning of the year, we just didn’t know what the pandemic was going to be like, or if we were going to be at this point where we’re starting to open back up, so it feels really good,” said Newport OUT co-owner Sean O’Connor said. “Whether it’s around pride events or not, people are really just so happy to be able to be together again, to the degree that’s possible.”
This year marks the fifth year since Newport OUT, Newport’s LGBTQ travel and advocacy organization, began hosting pride-themed activities. While the group could not hold any major gatherings last year, loosening restrictions has allowed the organization to hold it’s annual Bike Ride through town on June 26, and the following Pride Market and Festival in Equality Park on the same day.
Newport Pride is also expected to be one of the only LGBTQ Pride events happening this year, as Rhode Island Pride has yet to announce an official event on their website or social media. O’Connor and co-owner Daniel Cano-Restrepo said they received more vendor requests and attention from groups outside of Newport to participate in the Market and Festival because of this, but they have had to turn vendors away due to restricted space.
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“We didn’t really didn’t plan for anything huge, even though there seems to be a lot of demand and interest,” O’Connor said. “We’re really trying to keep it focused on the local community and to make sure that the youth and everyone on the island can really have a good experience of pride here. ”
Due to the increase in interest for Newport Pride’s celebrations, Newport OUT has had to reconsider the spaces they’ve used for these events. The organization is hoping to reach out to the Broadway Neighborhood to see if the festival can stretch onto the street. The group has also had to reconsider the location for its after-party, which was originally set to be at Parlor Bar.
“It started as something small and is now becoming this huge, massive thing,” Cano-Restrepo said. “This is only growing more and more, and there are many, many opportunities that we can take advantage of, not only for Pride, but for a center, for a place for the community, for the connections that we can continue to grow, and for the events that we can do not only during June, but (throughout) summer.”
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Beyond the main bike ride and festival, the group is planning smaller ways to showcase LGBTQ pride during the month. Newport OUT plans to hold a flag-raising event at City Hall on June 11, where a rainbow flag will be flown in honor of the month, and a photo gallery at Innovate Newport on June 12 that documents the Stonewall uprising and its impact on the LGBTQ community from the 1960s up to 2019. Newport OUT is also promoting a Newport Art Museum talk which chronicles the U.S. Navy’s covert raid on Newport’s gay scene in the early 1900s.
Throughout the month, local businesses will sell $5 pins in honor of Newport Pride 2021, which can be used for discounts at other participating businesses in June. The proceeds will be used to fund public art displays celebrating LGBTQ pride in Newport, according to Newport OUT’s website. A list of participating businesses can also be found on the website.
Gallery:2019 Newport Pride Festival
“When we started this in 2018, we just put it out there,” O’Connor said. “We said ‘we’re doing this ride from here on this day,’ and we showed up very early, and were like, ‘is anyone going to come?’ and, of course, people came. It was awesome just to hear the perspectives from long time LGBTQ residents and young families, and how meaningful it felt to come together … With there not really being a community center or a gay bar or any sort of unifying space, it’s really cool to have that opportunity to bring folks together from all segments of the community.”
