Medford Names Committee Members For First-Ever Pride Festival

MEDFORD, MA — Six Medford residents have joined the inaugural Pride Festival Committee and are now tasked with helping to plan, organize, and coordinate the city’s first celebration this June.

The Pride Festival Committee will include the following members:

• Honorary Chair Lucy Rodriguez
• Michael Lowe
• Cyan McDermott
• Joan Cyr
• Myrlande Paul
• Paul Donato Jr.

Committee Chair and Medford’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Frances Nwajei held a Zoom meeting on April 11 with all the applicants and discussed the objective of the committee. She noted that those who were not selected for the committee can still play a major part of this historic event by volunteering during the festival.

“The amount of interest from the public this event has garnered has been truly inspiring and I can’t wait to get to work with this incredible group to plan a historic and memorable Pride Festival on behalf of the City,” Nwajei said. “Picking just six people was extraordinarily difficult and the breadth of experience, passion and eagerness to be a part of the festival was apparent in everyone I spoke with.”

The committee will begin meeting on a weekly basis to evaluate shared ideas, conduct outreach about potential sponsorship opportunities, and coordinate event logistics with departments. The festival is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of June 24 to 26, with a specific date to be announced in the coming weeks.

“I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and spirit of all who applied to be on this committee,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. “With these six members, along with an amazing group of volunteers, this festival is sure to be a thriving and vibrant event for the entire community. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for June.”

For more information on the Pride Festival Committee and how you can volunteer, contact Nwajei at fnwajei@medford-ma.gov.