Crofton Girl To Lead Annapolis Pride Walk On June 19

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A Crofton girl will help the Annapolis mayor lead Tuesday's Pride Walk, followed by planning to begin for next year's event, officials say. Mayor Gavin Buckley will join Claire Drapeau, a seventh-grader from Crofton Middle School, to lead the walk at 4 p.m. from City Hall to Baroak Restaurant at the Loews Hotel, beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 19.

Earlier this month, Mayor Buckley declared June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. To celebrate the declaration, Claire decided to walk downtown Annapolis distributing rainbow stickers to encourage residents to support the gay community. Mayor Buckley learned of her endeavor via Facebook and asked to join her on June 19, according to a news release.

The Mayor’s Office also worked with Annapolis Pride, a grassroots group whose mission is to bring pride to Annapolis through the strengthening of the city’s gender and sexual minority community and to spread awareness of LGBTQ+ issues.

The Pride Walk route begins at City Hall, 160 Duke of Gloucester Street, and proceeds along Green Street, around the Market House, up Main Street, around Church Circle, and down West Street to the Loews Hotel’s Baroak Restaurant. At 5:30 p.m., Mayor Buckley will present the proclamation to Jeremy Browning of Annapolis Pride and a citation to Claire.

At the Baroak event, attendees will start planning the 2019 Pride Parade for next June.

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