Montclair 2023 Pride Fest Updates: Rally, Road Closures, Schedule

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Are you headed to the second annual Montclair Pride festival on Saturday, June 10? Here are some quick updates you should know.

SCHEDULE

There will be three stages featuring free live music from noon to 6 p.m., and a street dance party that takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the festival’s main stage. All times are subject to change, organizers noted.

Music lover? You can see the full schedule/lineup online here.

• See Related: Huge LGBTQ Pride Festival Returning To Montclair For 2023
• See Related: Twin Musicians From NJ Inspire Pride With Transgender Journey

ROAD CLOSURES

According to the Montclair Police Department, people who plan to attend the festival should try walking or biking.

There will be road closures that begin at midnight on Friday. They will continue until 10 or 11 p.m. on Saturday at the following locations:

• Bloomfield Avenue (N. Fullerton to Valley)
• Park/S. Park streets (Portland Place to south of Bloomfield Avenue to The Crescent Parking Deck entrance driveway)
• Church Street (Bloomfield Avenue to Trinity Place)

“We strongly recommend that residents walk or bike to the festival,” police said.

RALLY

According to Out Montclair, which is spearheading the festival, a rally is planned in support of the LGBTQ+ community on Friday, June 9 at 5:30 p.m. at the Wellmont Arts Plaza next to the Wellmont Theater (a rain location is set for Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 67 Church Street). Attendees will include several local elected officials, clergy members and other community leaders.

Locally, Montclair has made strides towards equality in recent years, advocates said.

In 2021 Montclair gained a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index, which it has held since. The township also enacted a sweeping pro-LGBTQ+ equality agenda that year, which included mandating all single use bathrooms in Montclair be gender-neutral. Read More: Montclair Passes 'Historic' Laws To Protect LGBT Community

According to a news release:

“Yesterday, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ Civil Rights organization, The Human Rights Campaign, for the first time in history, declared a national emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans, complete with an astonishing report on how the LGBTQIA+ community is being attacked nationwide, including with the introduction of 75 bills across the country, targeting the community for discrimination, that have already been signed into law.”

“Before marriage equality and the reversal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ I was frustrated and sad,” Out Montclair Executive Director Peter Yacobellis said. “But I was never scared for us because progress always felt natural.”

“Now – especially with the reversal of Roe V. Wade and this feverish pace of anti-queer legislation – I’m scared for us,” added Yacobellis, who also serves as a town council member in Montclair.

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