Rockland Pride Event Celebrates 25 Years June 9

NYACK, NY — The 25th Annual Rockland Pride Sunday, which will take place Sunday, is the oldest LGBTQ+ Pride celebration in the Hudson Valley, according to officials at the Phyllis B. Frank Pride Center of Rockland County

This year’s event includes vendors, live performances, music, speeches, and activities for children, families, and teens plus a parade, which steps off at 11:30 a.m.

“Pride Month is more important than ever this year,” said Brooke Malloy, executive director of the Pride Center. “Attacks on the humanity of LGBTQ+ people are not what most Americans want and it’s certainly not how we do things here in Rockland.”

Why is June Pride Month? Because it was in June of 1969 that New York City’s Stonewall Riots took place in New York City, giving birth to the modern civil rights movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, Pride Center officials said.

"So much has changed in the county. People are no longer just accepting but affirming," Mallow told Patch, pointing to the new Pride Wellness Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. But, she said, "Those are really difficult, challenging things to get going, and it's the simple things like the ERA that get hung up. Politicians will march in a parade but they say 'oh we don’t want to go that far.' It's silly."

It’s also exhausting to keep asking for the most basic human rights, she said.

"I think in a lot of ways we’re still fighting for the same things," Malloy told Patch. "There’s been a lot of progress but we’re still asking for the same quality of life and people protections as we were before."

As it does each year, the Center will host a family-friendly street fair designed to celebrate LGBTQ+ history, give elected officials an opportunity to show support, and give parents of LGBTQ+ young people an opportunity to see happy, successful LGBTQ+ adults, they said.

When it began, it was not a parade but a celebration.

"I think people had a perception about what a pride parade was," Mallow said. "Now we do have a parade and everybody marches in it. Law enforcement, religious institutions, PTAs, elected officials — including some of the ones that care and some that just like to march and shake hands in an election year."

This year’s event is supported by grants from the Rockland County Department of Economic Development & Tourism and Arts Westchester. A full sponsor list will be available at the event.

• WHAT: 25TH Annual Rockland Pride Sunday
• WHERE: Downtown Nyack, NY
• WHEN: Sunday June 9, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Parade step-off: 11:30 a.m., Memorial Park. Speaking Program: 12:00 noon, Hezekiah Easter Park Gazebo