How To Celebrate June Pride Month In Westfield

WESTFIELD, NJ — Pride Month continues through the month of June, with several ways in Union County to participate in the celebration of LGBTQ culture, rights and identity.

Among them is Westfield Pride Flag Raising which has been rescheduled to Tuesday, June 13, at 5 p.m. The flag will be raised at Town Hall and followed by a walk to the rainbow crosswalks on Quimby Street. There will be music and refreshments.

Other events include:

Union County Pride in the Park, will take place on Saturday, June 24 from 4 to 10 p.m. at Tëmike Park in Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield. This free, family-fun event will feature kick-ball tournaments, arts and crafts, games, a DJ and decades dance parties, food trucks, local non-profit organizations, and informational tables, followed by an outdoor movie presentation of “Strange World” at dusk, approximately 8:30 p.m.

Elizabeth Pride on Saturday, June 24 from 2 to 5 p.m. at 42 Broad St. in Elizabeth. There will be music, performances, and a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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.