If you’ve never attended a Pride Parade or festival, you might not know what to expect; I sure didn’t. I attended my first Pride this past Sunday, September 11 in Burlington and was hit with a sensory overload.
Burlington is a small city, with only around 42,284 citizens, so its Pride is small compared to larger cities' celebrations such as those held in Boston or New York. However, small does not mean unimportant. Small Prides mean your presence becomes so much more important and intimate. People wave at you in the street and compliment you; they thank you for coming and get you involved in the activities.
The celebration in Burlington consists of a parade, which many local politicians, companies and churches march in, as well as an event at Battery Park afterward full of food stands, drag queens, merchandise and of course, rainbows galore. It can be a lot to take in as a first-timer. But even with all this happening around you the thing you notice the most is the feeling of safety and acceptance that hovers around everyone at the event.
Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community often leads to feelings of wariness and hesitance about being unapologetically you, but as Champlain college freshman, Makayla Montes describes, “People at pride are more open and willing to show their true colors.”
This message echoes through every little thing in Pride. People from all different backgrounds, with all different stories and beliefs come together to celebrate exactly that: diversity. Men wear nail polish, women don’t hesitate before grabbing their girlfriend's hand, drag queens openly flaunt their stuff in the middle of Church Street, allies proudly wave their rainbow flags and so much more. When you look around during Pride all you see is love and happiness, even when people walk down the street holding signs with “Remember Orlando” written on them because Pride is a time to remember as well as celebrate.
We use this event to remember where we come from and how we’ve struggled; we remember the lives lost to hatred and ignorance and we remember everyone who walked before us to make this possible as we celebrate how far we’ve come and all of the things we are still going to achieve.
Pride is a time where you can feel like a part of a large family where unconditional support is the norm and for a lot of people, that’s a new feeling. Pride is a time when you can finally feel like the majority — you’re allowed to feel big, large and loud because you know everyone is there to back you. The feelings that I was gifted from attending Pride for the first time is something I will never forget and will forever be grateful for and is why I will be going back to Pride, to get involved as much as I can so I can assure that all the newcomers still to come can feel just as safe and loved as I did that day.
