Portsmouth Pride march and celebration Saturday, June 24

Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

PORTSMOUTH — LGBTQ+ folks and their allies from the Seacoast and beyond will come together to celebrate the ninth Portsmouth Pride Saturday, June 24, with a Pride March gathering in Market Square at noon and ending at the Strawbery Banke Museum, where the celebration will continue until 5 p.m.

The event will feature a Throwback Brewery beer tent (21-plus), a special KidZone with youth activities, 100-plus vendors, food trucks, community resources and more.

The fun continues with separate youth and adult after-parties from 7 to 10 p.m. The adult after party will be a sunset cruise aboard the MV Thomas Laighton with a DJ, dancing, food, and beverages.

LGBTQ+ folks and their allies from the Seacoast and beyond come together again to celebrate the ninth Portsmouth Pride in Portsmouth on Saturday, June 24.
LGBTQ+ folks and their allies from the Seacoast and beyond come together again to celebrate the ninth Portsmouth Pride in Portsmouth on Saturday, June 24.

June 24 Schedule of events:

Noon

Pride March gathers at Market Square

12:20 p.m.

Speeches in Front of Book and Bar. Speakers scheduled to appear include: Portsmouth Mayor, Deaglan McEachern, Seacoast Outright Executive Director, Hershey Hirschkop, 603 Equality Director, Linds Jakows.

12:45 p.m.March begins, marching down State and Marcy Street, ending at the Strawbery Banke Museum

1 to 5 p.m.Pride celebration at the Strawbery Banke Museum on Puddledock Lawn.

6:30 to 10 p.m.

Portsmouth Pride 18-plus cruise aboard the MV Thomas Laighton: Dance the night away on a sunset cruise featuring DJ Sunshine and hors d'oeuvres prepared by Black Trumpet. There is a cash bar on the boat that can prepare all of your favorite drinks. The boat will load at 6:30 p.m. and take off promptly at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 online, or $50 purchased at the door.

7 to 10 p.m.

Portsmouth Pride Free Youth After-Party at First United Methodist Church. All youth in middle and high school are welcome. Dancing, pizza and a youth drag show. Wear your Pride, bring your friends, and dance and party the night away.

Major sponsors for this year’s Portsmouth Pride event include: Exeter Health Resources, Hannaford DEI Team, Irving Oil, Kennebunk Savings Bank, M&T Bank, Planet Fitness, Service Credit Union.

Throughout June and the week of Portsmouth Pride, many community partners will be holding collaborative events and fundraisers to benefit Seacoast Outright. Check out the full Pride calendar at seacoastoutright.org.

“The past few years have been tough on LGBTQ+ kids — not just coming out of the pandemic, but also, the profoundly hateful messages coming from our lawmakers," said Seacoast Outright Executive Director Hershey Hirschkop. "Now is the time to be an ally and show your full-throated support not only for LGBTQ+ folks, but for all marginalized groups, as rights and protections continue to be stripped away and hatred sweeps our state and country. Join us on June 24 to show your Pride and your protest.”

For information, go to SeacoastOutright.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH Pride march and celebration Saturday, June 24