Pride Festival Returns To Manahawkin Lake Park

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Get out your rainbow gear and head over to Manahawkin Lake Park on June 21 for Stafford's third annual pride festival.

"Pride in the Park," a celebration of the local LGBTQ+ community, will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Live performances include girlband, Stiletta, Kelly Zuzic and xxXela.

Along with the entertainment, attendees can check out local vendors, partake in chalk art and more.

Pride Month occurs during June in deference to the Stonewall Uprising, a tipping point in the struggle for equality among people who identify as LGBTQ. New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. Such raids were common, but patrons fought back, resulting in days of violent clashes across Greenwich village.

The observance started as Gay Pride Day on the last Sunday in June, but soon grew to the point that June calendars are packed with pride parades, parties, workshops, symposiums and concerts across the nation and around the world.

In New Jersey, about 4.1 percent of the population — or 343,000 people — identify as LGBTQ, according to the Movement Advance Project, which tracks legislation targets. They represent 4 percent of New Jersey’s workforce, or 205,000 people.

The organization gives New Jersey 39.25 points out of a possible 43.5 points. Our state received 17.5 points out of a possible 20 for sexual orientation policy and 21.75 points out of a possible 23 for gender policy. The overall ranking was graded “HIGH.”

Pride Month 2023 occurs amid a historic surge in bills targeting LGBTQ rights, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Nearly 500 pieces of legislation nationwide have been filed in state legislatures this year, according to the ACLU tracking.

Legislation introduced in New Jersey includes a bill that would give public school parents vouchers to nonpublic schools if they object to learning material that they consider harmful, which includes lessons on sexuality and gender expression.

Another bill would ban transgender female athletes from competing in women's sports in schools and would require all student athletes to participate in sports teams for their biological sex, though there is little evidence that trans women have any advantage in sports, according to a 2017 study.

Both bills were introduced and were referred to committee this past January.

Yet another bill would ban gender-affirming care for youth in New Jersey. This bill was introduced in January. Read more: Trans Youth Care Criminalized In NJ Bill; Lawmaker Won't Name Sources

“LGBTQ people are under fire, unlike possibly ever before and across virtually every aspect of our lives,” Logan S. Casey, a senior researcher at Movement Advancement Project, told The Washington Post in April. “This is part of a very clear and identifiable national effort in state legislatures that is and has been going on for years — and it’s really culminating this year.”