Daily Freeman: Inaugural Woodstock Pride parade, celebration draw hundreds
Inaugural Woodstock Pride parade, celebration draws hundreds
PUBLISHED: June 9th, CONNOR GRECO
WOODSTOCK, N.Y. — Pride festivities were in full swing in Woodstock on Sunday, June 9, as the town hosted its first-ever LGBTQ Pride parade and celebration, along with a lineup of after-events.
What was initially a rainy morning changed to clear weather as hundreds took to the streets for the parade in support of the LGBTQ community, featuring local organizations, performers, and a marching band.
The parade kicked off from the Comeau Property on Comeau Drive, heading down Tinker Street towards the Colony, where the after-events took place. Groups including the Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Center, St, Gregoryʼs Episcopal Church, and the Mid-Hudson Misfits Roller Derby took part in the march.
At the front of the parade was Sabrina Asch, the paradeʼs grand marshal. Asch was elected to the position by members of the Woodstock Pride Committee and previously served as a grand marshal for the townʼs Halloween parade. Asch said she was honored to be in the position for the inaugural Pride parade.
“I am wildly humbled and honored and proud,” Asch said. “To be in this town for this event, itʼs beyond my gratitude and my humility is beyond measure.”
Asch said it was about time that Woodstock had its own Pride festivities. “I feel like itʼs already been a thing,” she said. “I canʼt imagine it ever not being a thing again.”
“I think it just took some people putting their heads together to make it start, to ignite the flame,” Asch added.
Following the parade was a series of performances at the Colony on Rock City Road, emceed by Julie Novak. Artists and musicians performing include DJ Michael V, stilt walkers Zach Glow Job and Jon Joni, Tryst Troupe, Rock Academy Showband, Bunny Michael, Mya Byrne, and B**ch.
A special guest at the after-celebration was Fredd “Tree” Sequoia, one of the original bartenders at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan. The historic Greenwich Village bar was the site of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, igniting the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States.
Stonewall Inn was scheduled to host a pop-up on Sunday afternoon at Pearl Moon, 52 Mill Hill Road, a ticketed fundraiser for Woodstock Pride and the Stonewall Inn
Event organizers and co-chairs of Woodstock Pride, Megan Ghiroli and Aileen Morgan, spoke about the planning of the festivities. Morgan said she and Ghiroli began Queerly, an LGBTQ+ Sunday gathering, at the end of 2022, eventually developing a small Pride event last year. “This year we decided to go all out,” Morgan said.
Morgan said much of the festivities planned for the weekend stemmed from the connections made at Queerly. “Itʼs just been so beautiful,” she said. “We were able to grow so much community from just the people we met there.” Morgan and
In regards to the Stonewall Inn, Ghiroli said the support has been overwhelming. “Itʼs been amazing,” she said. “Weʼve had a long-standing relationship with Stonewall. Aileenʼs brother is one of the owners.”
“Weʼve both lived in the city before, itʼs always been such an amazing place that has been so supportive of the LGBTQ community,” Ghiroli added.
Ghiroli said she and Morgan fully intend to continue Woodstock Pride in the following years. “This is definitely the inaugural one,” she said. “Weʼre really feeling like this is going to be one of the premier Pride events on this coast.”
“Just because of Woodstock, because of the artistic draw and the history of it, it just lends itself to drawing that kind of energy,” she added.
