Amherst Pride

07/02/2024

𝘼 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣-𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Photos by Dennis Vandal capturing the Town of Amherst Pride Celebration 2024 at the Amherst College Alumni House where Justice Roderick Ireland delivered remarks. Ireland served on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court during the landmark Goodridge vs Department of Public Health case and the state’s recognition of same-s*x marriage.

A panel discussion moderated by Josh Benson, a CRESS Responder followed his remarks. The panelists were: former Town Select Board Member Connie Kruger, Marguerite Sheehan, and current Town Councilor Pat De Angelis. Two of the panelists were married in Amherst.

This event was sponsored by the Town of Amherst, MA Town Council, Human Rights Commission, and Amherst College and was part of the Town of Amherst Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Becoming a Beloved Community programming series.

07/02/2024

07/02/2024

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎🩵🩷🤍🌈Shout out to the q***r folks and allies who showed up in to celebrate pride and progress. Now let’s continue this important work all year long!

07/02/2024

📸Moments of the Town of Amherst, MA LGBTQ+ Pride Month Proclamation Reading and Flag Raising in front of the Town Hall captured by photographer Dennis Vandal. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

06/23/2024

06/22/2024

We hereby christen this budget Barbie camper... Priscilla, Queen of the Desert! Join us Monday, June 24 at 7pm for a special 30th anniversary screening of Stephan Elliott's joyous q***r classic, THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT.

Follow Tick (Hugo Weaving), Adam (Guy Pearce), and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) on a journey across the Australian Outback in their iconic pink tour bus "Priscilla." Link in bio for tickets.

06/22/2024

Are you coming to the Q***r Artisan Market on Sunday from 10am-2pm? We will be accepting donations of top need items on behalf of our neighbors, the Amherst Survival Center.

🧡🧡🧡
Looking for canned beans, pasta sauce, and pasta!
🧡🧡🧡

The Center serves more than 10,000 people each year. Their services,
all of which are free, include a food pantry, daily community meals,
fresh food distribution, services such as showers and lockers for
those experiencing homelessness, information & referral, as well as
a variety of other support services.

06/21/2024

The countdown continues... 2 days until the Q***r Artisan Market!

This Family Friendly market will showcase over 20 local LGBTQIA+ makers and artists, with something for everyone.

We look forward to seeing you this Sunday, June 23 from 10am-2pm.
WEATHER UPDATE: We are moving the Market INDOORS!

06/20/2024

We are taking this party INDOORS!

Sunday is looking like rain, so we have decided to host our vendors inside the lovely former Provisions space in The Mill District. We will be setting up a 30' wall coloring activity to spread your joy and draw some love! Masking is optional but strongly encouraged. We will have some masks available at our welcome table.

So break out your umbrellas and come support local artisan pride this Sunday from 10am-2pm at our Q***r Artisans Market! 🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈

06/20/2024

WWLP captured some of the Town of Amherst, MA's Celebration of Pride and Progress last week with retired Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ireland upon the 20-year anniversary of the Goodridge Decision affirming the right to same-s*x marriage in Massachusetts.

To celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and pride month, retired Justice Roderick Ireland visited the city of Amherst.Stay informed about Massachusetts news, weath...

06/14/2024

Join us on June 23rd, 2024 from 10am-2pm for our Q***r Artisans Market. This FREE family friendly event will host makers of all sorts of lovely goods from members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

This event will be ideally outdoors in front of the former Provisions space in the center of North Square in The Mill District. In the event of rain we will be able to pop-up inside of the former Provisions space to have an indoor event.

Accessibility Info: This is a public event hosted outdoors. In the event of rain we will move indoors and masking is optional. The event is wheelchair accessible and there are accessible bathrooms located in The Mill District General Store next to the event space. 🌈

06/11/2024

Town of Amherst, MA Pride Celebration 2024
𝘼 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣-𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
🗓️ Thursday, June 13, 2024

3:00 PM reading of the Proclamation for Pride Month and flag raising by members of the Town Council at Town Hall.

3:30 PM walk to Alumni House- one block away

4:00 PM Remarks By Justice Roderick Ireland followed by the panel discussion.
The moderator is Josh Benson, a CRESS Responder. The panelists are: former Town Select Board Member Connie Kruger, Marguerite Sheehan, and current Town Councilor Pat De Angelis. Two of the panelists were married in Amherst, MA.

5:00 PM Reception following the panel discussion.

➡️ More info on the Town of Amherst website: https://www.amherstma.gov/calendar.aspx?EID=27562

06/04/2024

This family friendly event will host makers of all sorts of lovely goods from over 20 members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

06/04/2024

Check out this wonderful programming at The Jones!

Magical Girls & Fighting Dreamers:
Q***r Representation in Manga & Anime

Tuesday, June 18th
7:00-8:00 PM
for ages 12+
via Zoom

To register for this webinar, please visit:
tinyurl.com/Q***rRepAnime

This program is hosted in partnership with Morrill Memorial Library and several other Massachusetts libraries, and may contain spoilers for some manga and anime series.

06/04/2024

Programming for teens at the Jones Library & Branches!

LOCAL AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
June/July 2024
Sarah Prager

Read our interview with Sarah! And check out her new book on Harper Collins – Q***r, There, and Everywhere: 27 people who changed the world!

( )

Why did you write your new book?
I started teaching myself LGBTQ+ history as a young teenager but there were no books in a teen voice for me to read about it. Writing Q***r, There, and Everywhere was the opportunity of a lifetime to create a book that would spark a love of LGBTQ+ history with youth like I had, opening minds.

Is there a member of this community who has been instrumental to your writing?
There are so many LGBTQ+ authors and book workers in the Valley and I’ve been lucky enough to meet and collaborate with many of them. The entire LGBTQ+ book community has been such a supportive space that has enhanced my writing experience.

How does living in the Amherst area affect your writing?
It’s really the same answer as above! Having LGBTQ+ community and writing community around is so lovely.

What was your favorite book growing up?
I really enjoyed the Junie B. Jones series. My 7-year-old loves it too now and we go through them all from the Jones Library and her school library. Timelessly funny.

Do you have a special library memory or story?
I wrote most of Q***r, There, and Everywhere sitting in my local library in Connecticut at the time. I requested and used dozens of books on interlibrary loan for research and it was the best resource I had throughout the whole process, both as a place to write and research tool.

Do you have a website for your books which you would like us to share?
www.sarahprager.com

06/03/2024

🌈☕RAINBOW COFFEE HOUR at the Town of Amherst Senior Center
𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟰𝘁𝗵, 𝟭𝟬:𝟬𝟬-𝟭𝟭:𝟬𝟬𝗮𝗺
The Rainbow Coffee Hour is a new LGBTQIA+ social coffee group that meets the first Tuesday of every month from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Amherst Senior Center for ages 50 and above. There is no format, no agenda — just a welcoming space to get together for an hour once a month to socialize and make connections.

All people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies are welcome to drop in.

06/02/2024

📸 Photos from last year's production at TheDrake. It was a packed house! Join us on Thursday, June 6th for R.I.P A Drag Production featuring Lividity & Magnolia Masquerade at The Drake (Amherst, MA)!

🎟 GET YOUR TICKETS NOW ➡️ https://www.thedrakeamherst.org/events/amherst-pride-presents-rip-a-drag-production

06/01/2024

05/24/2024

2024 Pride programming announced by the Town of Amherst, MA:
➡️ https://www.amherstma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3571 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2024
Program Outline
3:00 PM reading of the Proclamation for Pride Month and flag raising by members of the Town Council at Town Hall.

3:30 PM walk to Alumni House- one block away

4:00 PM Remarks By Justice Roderick Ireland followed by the panel discussion. The moderator is Josh Benson, a CRESS Responder. The panelists are former Town Select Board Member Connie Kruger, Marguerite Sheehan, and current Town Councilor Pat DeAngelis. Two panelists were married in Amherst.

5:00 PM Reception following the panel discussion.

Background
Following the Goodridge Decision, marriage licenses for same s*x couples became available on May 17, 2004.

The law requires a three- day waiting period meaning May 20, 2004 was the first day a couple could marry.

In Amherst 21 same s*x marriage intentions were filed on the 17th.

Twelve marriages were recorded in May.

They were:

Debra Jacobson and Margaret Mastrangelo, May 20, 2004

Bobbi Hopkins and Carolyn McGill, May 20, 2004

Marsha Bazley and Linda Blatt, May 21, 2004

Marguerite Sheehan and Dorothy Merriam, May 21, 2004

Amy Brodigan and Elizabeth Welsh, May 23, 2004

Jennifer Gwozdzik and Maria Racca, May 23, 2004

Judith Whitcomb and Cheryl Sponburgh, May 23, 2004

Florence Stern and Nancy deProsse, May 23, 2004

Carol Betsch and Robin Karson, May 24, 2004

Mary McCarthy and Anne Dolen, May 24, 2004

Felicia Mednick and Felice Yeskel, May 26, 2004

Elisabeth O’Brian Selkirk and Angelika Kratzer, May 28, 2004

…more at: https://www.amherstma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3571

05/21/2024

THANK YOU for underwriting this year’s drag production at !

05/16/2024

📋 Have you submitted your vendor app, yet? ✏️
Be a part of the 2024 Q***r Artisan Market at The Mill District in

Seeking vendors for our Q***r Artisan Market on June 23, 2024!

Application link and more info with link or in bio -- > https://wkf.ms/3Un8Dpt

05/10/2024

Let's sell out TheDrake! Get your tickets now! 🎟️https://www.thedrakeamherst.org/events/amherst-pride-presents-rip-a-drag-production
R.I.P - A DRAG PRODUCTION ft. LIVIDTY & MAGNOLIA MASQUERADE

Amherst Pride! Drag, music, dancing, drinks.

05/10/2024

Devorah and Margaret, Connie and Susan, and Marguerite and Dorrie were among the first same-s*x couples to legally marry in Amherst 20 years ago. They sought security and acceptance, and a celebration of their love.

Nick Grabbe shares their stories on the eve of the 20th anniversary of marriage equality in Massachusetts.

Read it on The Amherst Current:
https://theamherstcurrent.org/2024/05/10/20-years-of-marriage-equality-three-couples-stories/

05/03/2024

Be sure to check out Hampshire Pride this weekend!

05/03/2024

🗓️ Get Excited and Mark Your Calendars!

Thurs 6/6 Drag returns to The Drake in

Sun 6/23 Q***r Artisan Market returns to The Mill District in

MORE COMING SOON!
Details forthcoming for the 2024 Town of Amherst proclamation reading, flag raising, and special community-wide programming and celebration.

IN THE MEANTIME...Enjoy Hampshire Pride this weekend!!!!

05/03/2024

Amherst Pride is around the corner!

6/6 presents a drag night production featuring .sfx and among other local performers.

Music, dancing, definitely drinks. 🍹

18+

Tickets on sale now!
https://www.thedrakeamherst.org/events/amherst-pride-presents-rip-a-drag-production

06/24/2023

We will also be joined by Hallie Hauer of Merrow Tarot at today's Q***r Pop-Up Market at The Drake, 11AM-3PM. See you there!

06/24/2023

It's a great Saturday in ! Start off at the Amherst Farmers' Market from 7:30AM-1:30PM on the Town Common, then swing by The Drake for the ***r Pop-Up Market between 11AM and 3PM. Artisans, artists, crafters, retailers, and more!

+ ***r