Portsmouth Pride 2022 will be bigger than before: Here's what you need to know
PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth Pride 2022 will return to its pre-pandemic events for a larger celebration than past years, according to organizers.
Organizers are continuing to field requests from vendors and partners who want to be involved as the Seacoast Outright brings its full event back to the Seacoast on Saturday, June 25.
Pride march participants will gather in Market Square at noon and march to Strawbery Banke Museum, where the festivities will continue with music on stage, a nearly 100-vendor marketplace, community resource booths, the Throwback Brewery Party Tent and food trucks. The event will run until 5 p.m.
During the celebration, Portsmouth Pride will present Grammy-nominated, triple-platinum selling artist, singer-songwriter and spoken word artist Mary Lambert as its headline entertainer on the Strawbery Banke Great Lawn. Also scheduled to perform are Random Ideas, Adrianne Mack-Davis and Karen Grenier.
Speakers scheduled to appear include Deaglan McEachern, mayor of Portsmouth; Congressman Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire; Hershey Hirschkopf, Seacoast Outright executive director; Palana Hunt-Hawkins, TransAction NH; Jen McGowan (big) and Cyrus (little), Big Brothers Big Sisters NH; and Jules Good, Neighborhood Access.
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“The past few years have been tough on LGBTQ+ kids – not only because of the isolation of the pandemic, but also the profoundly hateful message coming from the Republican majority in the State Legislature," Hirschkop said in a prepared statement. "HB 1431, a bill which would force school guidance counselors and teachers to out children to their parents, would only further increase the numbers of LGBTQ+ kids who experience depression, anxiety, and yes, suicidality. It was narrowly defeated this year, but you can bet we’ll see this again. ... Now is the time to be an ally and show your full-throated support for LGBTQ+ folks, people identifying as women, and people of color as rights and protections continue to be stripped away. Join us on June 25 to show your pride.”
From 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, there will be a free Youth After-Party at First United Methodist Church. There'll be dancing, pizza and drag shows.
Simultaneously, there will be a 21-plus After Party at Tour in Portsmouth from 7 to10 p.m. Tickets for this event are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Hosted by Bianca York, there'll be dancing, specialty cocktails, lawn games, golf and drag artistry. Dress to be seen as a Pride mover and a shaker in the community.
More: Splaine: Portsmouth Pride is about all of us. Here's how we got here in New Hampshire.
During the weeks before and the week of Portsmouth Pride, many community partners will be holding fundraisers to benefit Seacoast Outright. Some of them include Flatbread Pizza, Portsmouth Feed Co., The Wilder and other. Visit the calendar at seacoastoutright.org/pride to learn more.
A week of LGBTQ+ events
In addition to the main Pride events on Saturday, June 25, there are several other events in Portsmouth leading up to and on Pride weekend.
On Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m., there'll be a gallery talk at the exhibit "Standing Together: LGBTQ Social and Support Groups" presented by the Seacoast LGBT History Project at The Portsmouth Athenaeum, 9 Market Square, Portsmouth.
Author Scott Bane will talk about his new book in a presentation "Portrait of a Marriage: Local Queer History" at the Portsmouth Public Library in person and online via Zoom at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 21. His book is about F.O. Matthiessen, one of the foremost scholars of American literature of the 20th century, and Russell Cheney, a well-known painter in the 1920s and 1930s in the Boston and New York art worlds, who met in 1924 and remained a couple living in Kittery until Cheney’s death in 1945. Cheney often painted Seacoast scenes. The book will be available for sale. The talk is free and open to the public but registration is required at portsmouthpl.librarycalendar.com/event.
On Friday, June 24 at 5 p.m., there'll be a screening of the 2009 film "Just Say Love" at the Players' Ring Theatre in Portsmouth. There'll be a cocktail reception after the film and the film's writer David Mauriello, director Bill Humphries and Hirschkop will hold a panel discussion. The screening is free, but a reservation is requested at https://playersring.org/just-say-love.
There'll be a Pride Tea Dance featuring DJ Skooch at The Press Room in Portsmouth from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 25. The dance party is 21-plus and there is a $5 cover charge.
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A Pride Pop-Up with DJ Skooch will take place at Liar's Bench on Islington Street in Portsmouth on Saturday, June 25 from 9 to 11 p.m.
A Drag Brunch will take place on Sunday, June 26 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Portsmouth Feed Co. on Pleasant Street in Portsmouth.
There'll be an Anniversary Park Hang presented by Lezhang Seacoast at Henry Law Park in Dover from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 26.
"Dive In to Pride," a cabaret and variety show produced by Dive In Productions, will be performed at The Player's Ring theater on Marcy Street in Portsmouth at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 26. Tickets are $15 and are available at playersring.org/dive-in-pride.
Now in its 29th year, Seacoast Outright supports LGBTQ+ youth, and their parents and caregivers with a variety of programs to support various needs. For more information, visit seacoastoutright.org/pride.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH Pride march, marketplace to fully return June 25
