A particpant in the 2024 Pride Parade waves a rainbow flag.
Reminder Publishing file photo
SPRINGFIELD — The theme of this year’s Pride Parade in Springfield, “Our Pride is Loud AF” isn’t just a statement, organizers say; it is a declaration of power.
“We are witnessing coordinated efforts to silence our voices and shrink our spaces,” said Taurean Bethea, the parade organization founder and CEO. “But Pride was never meant to be quiet. We are here today because of those who refused to be silent.”
That latter mantra will dictate the fourth annual Pride weekend in Springfield, which promises to be the “biggest and boldest” celebration yet, according to Bethea.
Parade organizers met with sponsors and city officials over Zoom to announce what people can expect during the festivities. According to Lawrence Thomas, the senior director of operations for Springfield Pride Parade Organization, Pride season kicks off with a flag raising ceremony at City Hall on June 5 with the mayor’s office followed by a youth community panel in partnership with Springfield Technical Community College.
Thomas said the panel is an important aspect of the celebration because it focuses on LGBTQIA+ youth advocacy.
“Pride for us is about youth,” Thomas said. “We want to make sure that we’re including, representing and highlighting those communities.”
The celebration shifts to a jam-packed weekend featuring the “You Ball” fundraising gala on June 6, which includes a night of “glitz, glam and powerful self-expression,” Bethea said. Billed as the one of the weekend’s “greatest events,” the Met Gala-inspired soiree helps raise money for Pride Parade’s Safe Space program and Springfield Public Schools.
In honor of the Broadway theater and former nightclub in midtown Manhattan, the gala’s theme this year is “Studio 54,” according to Bethea.
“We’re taking it back to disco,” Bethea said. “It’s a celebration of individuality, legacy and the spirit of pride turned all the way up.”
The entire weekend culminates on June 7 with the celebration’s flagship programs, the parade itself and the block party that follows.
Thomas said the organization expected 500 people to show up during its first year in 2022, but instead were met with over 6,000 people. Now, in 2025, they expect over 10,000 people from all over to attend parade day.
“We have clearly blown that number out of the water, and we’re going to continue to grow year over year as we expand our presence into the Western Mass., New England area,” Thomas said.
The block party this year will feature food, vendors and celebrity guests, including New Orleans pop icon Dawn Richard as the party’s headliner.
“We’re honored to welcome her to Springfield, and we cannot wait to hear her and help us close out this great weekend with energy, excellence and pride,” Bethea said. “Dawn embodies everything our theme stands for.”
In his remarks before the announcement, Mayor Domenic Sarno commended Bethea and his team for putting together a “fun and thoughtful parade” that benefits not only Springfield residents, but also people all over Western Mass.
“I think if people want to come down and experience [the parade weekend], you’re going to see individuals you know, that you work with, that are family members, that are friends, that are productive members of our society,” Sarno said. “I look forward to all the events.”
Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris praised Bethea for his work on the event and emphasized the necessity for a celebration such as this.
“It is more critical now than ever that we use our voices in order to help individuals around diversity, equity and inclusion,” Caulton-Harris said. “Those are not bad words. That just means we celebrate everyone in our community.”
Readers can learn more about the parade weekend by visiting springfieldprideparade.org. Bethea said more specific information about the celebration will come out in the near future.
