Sun and Mostly Optimism at Warwick Pride Day
Festive support buoyed the event, as the Gay Student Association transitions to new leadership. But a Gay Straight Alliance was nixed at Warwick Valley Middle School.
By Fern Ashworth
The 10th annual Warwick Pride Parade stepped off on Sunday, June 9, under sunny skies and attitudes. Melissa Shaw-Smith, event organizer and director of Wickham Works, a Warwick arts organization, said that local support of the parade and its participants has grown over the years, and that the celebration has become known as “THE family-friendly Pride event” in the area.
The Town of Warwick police department made the decision to scale back their presence at this year’s parade, Shaw-Smith said, since there was virtually no chatter on the various social media platforms leading up to the LGBTQ+ event, in stark contrast to protests last year by Moms for Liberty. Shaw-Smith said she finds that the Warwick community has embraced the event, and the number of positive comments has doubled.
Supporters lined the parade route as participants marched and glided by on colorful floats, led once again by the Funkrust Brass Band, a primarily Brooklyn based group. Beth Laule, third-time parade participant and Wickham Works employee, sported an ambitious bed/blanket/pillow costume conceived by student Henry Pecile, based quite literally on this year’s theme of “Rise and Shine.” Vendors and a show awaited the crowd at parade’s end at Veterans Memorial Park Pavilion.
Shaw-Smith noted that the overall response from several vendors was that “there was an extraordinary feeling of acceptance and comradeship; we’re all part of something that’s bigger than just us.”
That sense of belonging carries over to the Gay-Straight Alliance and Wickham Works, Shaw-Smith said. The student association and arts organization collaborate on making art for Pride and Prom, and the arts organization provides an important safe space for art making, as well as social time discussion “for kids not out yet to parents,” she said. “In school, it’s easy to just be ‘one of the crowd’; it’s not easy to stand out from the crowd and to claim themselves. It takes great courage.”
Shaw-Smith described the current GSA president, Moth Kron, whose term has ended, as having a laid back style, encouraging other students to take the initiative to develop their ideas. Dennery (“Ender”) Simon, a Warwick Valley senior this fall, will be co-president of the GSA, and intends to have a “hands on approach” leadership style, while still ensuring that “everyone’s voice will be heard.”
In regard to acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community within the school district, Simon said that the climate is still “pretty polarized,” and that while within the administration, “some people are lovely and amazing,” the school as a whole is not doing much in promoting Pride. An attempt to get GSA in the middle school this past year was unsuccessful.
Despite this, the mood at the park was upbeat. Lisa Dempsey, a new resident in the area, learned of the event through Broadway at Baird’s, an event at Baird’s Tavern in Warwick. She showed up donning a pink tutu, bent on having a fun day. Her companion, Jake Verwys, sporting some stick-on crystals, was there to just soak up “the sun, good vibes and music.” A frequent visitor from nearby New Jersey, Verwys’s perception of Warwick has been that it’s “an accepting, nice place.” Next year’s parade is planned for June 8, the second Sunday in June.
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