First Annual Wilton Pride Festival Will Be Held June 10

**News Release Submitted by Wilton Library and Wilton Pride**

May 15, 2023

Wilton Pride, in partnership with Wilton Library, is pleased to announce its first annual Wilton Pride Festival on Saturday, June 10, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Wilton featuring music, performing arts, exhibits, and much more. The Pride Festival is part of Be You, a series of events organized by Wilton Pride in collaboration with town organizations and businesses to celebrate Pride Month in June.

“Hosting an annual Pride Festival is the first step in the right direction for acceptance of our queer community in town. It embodies our vision for Wilton to be a place where LGBTQ+ families are welcome, safe, supported and celebrated! We invite all Wilton residents to join us at the festival. It will be a lot of fun and we will learn together…and most importantly, this event will give us an opportunity to strengthen our bonds as a community,” said Farah Masani of Wilton Pride.

"Wilton Library is thrilled to be working with Wilton Pride and all of our other co- sponsors on this community-wide event. This collaboration is a perfect opportunity for us to demonstrate our newly crafted vision, to be ‘an environment where everyone is made to feel safe and welcome.’ We look forward to welcoming our entire community to the library on June 10,” said Caroline Mandler, Executive Director of Wilton Library.

Saturday, June 10 promises to be a day of fun and activities for all ages:

Opening Ceremony: Wilton Town Green, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Music, festivities, swag & merch
• 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. - Opening Remarks, Presenters, and Performances Festival Activities at Wilton Library, 1 to 3 p.m.

Festival Activities at Wilton Library, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Join us for interactive experiences, art, exhibits, and more fun including a photo booth with Justin Baiad Photography, video booth, human library, music, body art, crafts, storytime, and much more!

Be You Scavenger Hunt - starting at Wilton Library at 3 p.m

• Check in at the library to start the Be You scavenger hunt featuring our Adopt-A-Shop partners throughout town center. Participants will have until Sunday, June 11 at 9 p.m. to submit their entries. Winner(s) will be selected the week of June 12 th and announced on our social channels!

Pride Movie Night at Trackside Teen Center, 7 p.m.

Wilton Pride’s partnership with Wilton Library marks the newest addition to a growing list of noteworthy collaborations with recently established Wilton Pride and its mission to support our LGBTQ+ community and allies. Other participating partners include Riverbrook Regional YMCA, Wilton Youth Council, Trackside Teen Center, Middlebrook PTA, Wilton High School PTSA, Middlebrook GSA, Wilton High School GSA, Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Kids in Crisis, and members of Girl Scout Troup #50798.

For more information, please visit Wilton Pride on Instagram @wiltonctpride or contact Farah Masani at info@wiltonpride.org or (512) 431-1515.