June Proclaimed LGBTQIA+ Pride Month In Fairfax City

FAIRFAX, VA — Mayor Catherine Read on Tuesday proclaimed June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month for the City of Fairfax, reciting a formal proclamation that highlighted the history of the movement and the city’s intent to “recognize, celebrate, and uplift our LGBTQ residents and their allies.”

“Now, therefore, I, Catherine S. Read, Mayor of the City of Fairfax, on behalf of all residents of the City of Fairfax, do hereby proclaim June 2026 as LGBTQIA plus Pride Month in the city of Fairfax, and urge all to acknowledge and celebrate our LGBTQIA plus friends, family, neighbors, employees, educators, and visitors to our welcoming and inclusive community," the mayor said.

The proclamation traces national milestones cited by the city, including the Stonewall riots of June 1969 and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same‑sex marriage on June 25, 2015. It also references Virginia’s 2020 passage of the Virginia Values Act, noting the law’s protections for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations.

“Fairfax is the best place to live,” said Rev. Emma Chatton of the Metropolitan Church of Northern Virginia, following Read's remarks.

Chatton describing Pride as a remembrance of past struggles and a source of strength for the future. “Pride remembers our origins, our fights for our lives, our fights for our jobs, our fights to love, and our fights to be married, to be known as people, and to be known as human beings," she said.

The proclamation also noted a Fairfax City PRIDE celebration that will take place Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center, 3740 Blenheim Blvd. The free, family-friendly event will kick off Pride Month with community vendors from the Mason campus and NOVA area, children’s activities, free caricatures, face painting, music and more. Everyone is invited and welcome to attend.