So That Reminds Me: Pride Month events in Western Massachusetts

Holyoke Pride Committee members Jeffrey Anderson-Burgos and Jeffery Bianche sat down with Ryan Feyre and Tyler Garnet to discuss the 2026 festivities.
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza

On the latest episode of “So That Reminds Me,” hosts Ryan Feyre and Tyler Garnet sat down with Holyoke Pride Committee members Jeffery Bianche and Jeffrey Anderson-Burgos, while Chris Maza and Dennis Hackett sat down with Springfield Pride Parade Founder and CEO Taurean Bethea to chat about what’s in store for Pride Month in their respective communities.

Holyoke

Holyoke will host its Pride flag raising on Monday, June 1, at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 536 Dwight St., and there will be a Youth Queer Prom on Friday, June 5, at 5 p.m. at the Holyoke War Memorial, 310 Appleton St. The latter event is for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies between the ages of 13-24 who want to “celebrate freely and joyfully.”

Other Pride events in Holyoke include a Buen Provecho Drag Brunch on Sunday, June 7, at 11 a.m., at Fame Lounge, 386 Dwight St. and a Rainbow Run 5K and 1-mile fun walk on Saturday, June 13, at 10 a.m., where participants can hit the ground running, or walking, at Ashley Reservoir in their brightest rainbow gear.

Anderson-Burgos, who said he is interested in running, created this event and shared he is looking forward to seeing it continue to grow. “I know that runners are constantly looking for the next race, so going into it, I knew it was going to be, if you build it they will come. Just putting in on the race calendar, people are immediately signing up for it.”

All ages and abilities are welcome. Readers can register for the event on the committee’s website until June 12.

Related: Holyoke Pride to host ‘1946’ screening and Q&A with Mary Lambert

A Drag Story Hour event will take place on Thursday, June 25, at 1 p.m. at the Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut St. Residents are encouraged to bring the family to library to experience heartwarming stories that celebrate acceptance and diversity.

When talking about Pride Month, Bianche and Anderson-Burgos said it was important for them to create events to support people of all ages.

The marquee event, Holyoke PrideFest, will take place on Saturday, June 27, from noon to 6 p.m. at Veterans Park, 536 Dwight St. The day will include live performances, local food vendors, nonprofits, small businesses, art and community connections.

Bianche said there will be between 60-70 vendors at the event. He added that PrideFest has continued to grow since the first year, and he expects around 2,000 people.

The celebration continues at a Pride After Party from 6-11 p.m. at The Wauregan, 420 Dwight St., with music, dancing and “unforgettable vibes.” Tickets for the after party are available on the website.

For the latest updates and event details, readers can visit holyokepride.org. Vendors and performers can apply on the website as well. Readers looking to donate, sponsor, or volunteer can do so on the website, as well.

Bianche said he still needs to add a couple events to the website’s calendar for people to check out. He explained that the celebration has grown so much throughout the city and that he wanted the community to work together in making the celebration special.

“We’re trying to just get anyone who’s working in this realm to just sort of submit their event and get it listed to become part of this bigger Holyoke Pride umbrella,” Bianche said.

Springfield

Springfield is hosting its LGBTQIA+ flag raising on Thursday, June 5, at 10:30 a.m. at Springfield City Hall, 36 Court St.

Bethea said this will be the fifth year that Springfield Pride Parade will host events to celebrate Pride Month.

Instead of the annual Gala, this year’s schedule will feature the first ever “Pride Strikes,” a charity bowling classic on Friday, June 5, at Tap’s MGM Springfield from 7-10 p.m. Readers can register their teams at springfieldprideparade.com.

The fifth annual Springfield Pride Parade is taking place on Saturday, June 6, starting at noon. The parade starts at the Springfield Technical Community College campus and proceeds to downtown Springfield, where guests can continue the celebration at the fifth annual Springfield Pride Parade Block Party from 1-6 p.m. at Stearns Square and the Pride Lands in downtown Springfield.

Outside of those events, Bethea said he is looking forward to the youth community panel. “Just hearing their thoughts on different things, and I feel like there’s always something to learn,” Bethea stated. “It’s like what’s happening in the world from their perspective, where we’re just like, ‘Oh wow I didn’t know that.’”

Related: Springfield Pride unveils plans for fifth annual event

Bethea said Springfield Pride’s work is much more than the parade. It’s also an opportunity to create “safe spaces” programming throughout the city for the youth and residents.

Although this year’s event in Springfield coincides with Boston’s celebration, Bethea said he expects a great turnout of about 5,000-7,000 people rain or shine.
He joked, “If you’re from Springfield, you are obligated to be here. A few years people have been like, ‘We went to Boston in the morning and ended up in Springfield,’ so there’s enough to go around.”

More details and information on each event can be found at springfieldprideparade.org.

To hear the full episode, visit thereminder.com/our-podcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite podcasting platform.

Some other Pride events taking place during the month of June in the Pioneer Valley include:

• Westfield Pride Month events: Harlot Queen’s Album Release party at Westfield Women’s Club; a Pride flag raising at Westfield City Hall on Monday, June 1, at 5:15 p.m.; Pride Karaoke on Tuesday, June 2, at Shortstop Bar & Grill at 6 p.m.; Family Gift Card Bingo at the Senior Center on Wednesday, June 3, from 6-7:30 p.m.; Comedy Night at Hutghi’s on Thursday, June 4, from 4-7 p.m.; Out & About Social event at Fame, 386 Dwight St., Holyoke on Friday, June 5, at 5 p.m.; Rainbows over Elm Pridefest will take place on June 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and there will be an ecumenical service at First United Methodist Church on Sunday, June 7, from 6-7 p.m.
• Chicopee Pride Festival, presented by the Chicopee Queer Consortium — Saturday, June 13, noon to 6 p.m. Includes its inaugural Chicopee Pride Parade, which will kick off the day at 10 a.m. The parade will step off at Dana Park on Serman Street and process down Springfield Street, Fairview Avenue, Academy Street and Front Street and into Szot Park.
• Franklin County Pride — Saturday, June 13. Parade begins at noon in Greenfield, starting at the intersection of Sanderson Street & Federal Street and finishing at Energy Park. The festival begins at 1 p.m. All of Miles Street down to Energy Park for the festival.
• Belchertown Pride Festival, hosted by the Belchertown DEI Task Force and Belchertown Police Department — Saturday, June 20, noon to 5 p.m. at the Belchertown Common.
• Amherst Pride Parade and Celebration — Sunday, June 28, noon to 3 p.m. The parade begins at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School and processes to the Amherst Town Common.

This is not a comprehensive list of every event going on in Western Massachusetts. Readers are encouraged to check out events within their local communities for other celebrations taking place during Pride Month.