Pride events return to the north country; Lewis County picnic to kick off events Sunday

Jun. 4—WATERTOWN — Pride returns to the north country this week, with events scheduled throughout the month of June to celebrate the LGBTQ community. From the Lewis County picnic to drag shows and boat parties, there's sure to be something for everyone regardless of age.

Pride is also expanding, with River Pride covering Clayton, Cape Vincent and Alexandria Bay now for its second year.

ABC 50's Alex M. Hazard, one of the organizers of River Pride, said the group is excited the other river communities reached out to join in the four-day event.

"The support has been overwhelming," he said. "People are genuinely excited to show what a welcoming, loving, accepting place the north country is."

This year, there will be an evening on an Uncle Sam's tour boat. This year, the main speaker will be Oneida County Supreme Court Justice Bernadette T. Clark of the Fifth Judicial District.

"She represents our area and performed the first gay marriage in our district, which is obviously really important," Mr. Hazard said. "People will also be able to hear from her perspective of what it was like when that came into law and what it was like to perform the first same-sex marriage."

To kick off Pride in the region, the Lewis County Pride Planning Committee will be hosting a Pride Community Picnic on Sunday. The event will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Lewis County Fairgrounds pavilion, 5485 Bostwick St. The event, a celebration of Pride and community in Lewis County, is free. Mr. Hazard will emcee the picnic, which will include resource tables, food, games, raffles and a DJ.

"For me, it's really all about the kids," Mr. Hazard said. "Obviously, during Pride, we have all sorts of celebrations of dancing and fun. But when we think about it, it's more important than that. It's showing kids in the north country that it's OK to be who you are."

Watertown Pride is scheduled for its third year of events, which will stretch throughout the month.

On June 17, the kickoff begins at 5 p.m. with a party in the Paddock Arcade and the Paddock Club on Public Square. The Family Fun Pride Drag Show with Amber Skyy is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. at Savory Downtown, and the Late Night Pride Drag Show for adults is at 10:15 p.m. at the same location.

At 9 a.m. June 18, the Pride flag will be raised at Watertown City Hall. At noon, the Watertown Pride 2022 "Out in the Park" Color Run is at Thompson Park. Drag Racin' with Pride will leave at 5:15 p.m. from Thompson Park, with several stops for short performances at local venues. Pride night fireworks will be set off at 10:15 p.m. at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds on Coffeen Street.

On June 19, a Tea Dance will be held at Garland City Beer Works at 2 p.m.

The next weekend, June 23 to 26, will be River Pride, with events scheduled from Thursday through Sunday along the St. Lawrence River.

"What's really great this year is that we are going to have the umbrella through Visit 1000 Islands, they came on to collaborate with us," Mr. Hazard said. "River Pride and Watertown Pride are still separate events, but we are being sure to collaborate where we can and be able to help this grow hopefully throughout the whole north country. I think it's kind of great because our logo is the 1000 Islands Bridge, and what is Pride but bridging folks together?"

On Thursday, June 23, there will be a night of Drag Bingo at The Osprey Public House. On Friday, there will be a River Pride kickoff party, "A Night on the River," from 6:45 to 8:45 p.m., a sunset cruise aboard Uncle Sam's Boat Tours' triple decker with a DJ on the top deck. Pick up and drop off will be in Clayton. Tickets for this event are required and cost $25 per person, plus fees. Also Friday, Piano Bar Karaoke will take place from 8 to 11 p.m. at The Hops Spot in Clayton, which will be hosting John Khoury from New York City's Sid's Gold Request Room.

On Saturday, there will be a flag ceremony in Thousand Island Park at 10 a.m., and another at Clayton's Centennial Park at 11 a.m. featuring Supreme Court Justice Clark as the special guest speaker. Boats will gather in front of Centennial Park when the ceremony ends. The following parade will feature antique boats from the Antique Boat Museum, parade marshal and LGBTQ advocate Miss New York, and members of the river community proudly sporting pride flags on their boats.

From 12:30 to 2 p.m., there will be family activities including arts and crafts, face painting, balloon animals, and storytime at The Little Bookstore on Riverside Drive in Clayton. At 6:30 p.m., "Almost: A Cher Tribute" will take place at Bonnie Castle Resort in Alexandria Bay. At 8 p.m., Los Angeles-based signer-songwriter Garrison Starr can be seen live in concert at the Thousand Island Park Tabernacle on Wellesley Island.

On Sunday, there will be a Drag Brunch at Di Prinzio's Kitchen in Clayton with three shows at 11 a.m, 1 p.m, and 3 p.m. Also Sunday, from 4 to 6 p.m., there will be family and kids activities at Grindstone Winery.

Traditionally, Canton and Potsdam have raised the Pride flag during June and Potsdam has held a Pride parade in years past, though information could not be found online about Pride activities happening this year in St. Lawrence County.

"Pride is about education and visibility; simply making the LGBTQ+ community visible is education in and of itself — showing folks that we do exist and that we are here," Mr. Hazard said. "I think we've come a long way but we have a long way to go because information and representation often leaves a large fraction of the community out, which is us. I think representation matters, visibility matters."