On this first day of Pride Month, we’d like to highlight Pride and Pride-themed events and activities happening around Morgantown in June.
- Morgantown Adventure Outfitters is offering LGBTQ+ kayaking and biking tours 4-8 p.m. every Saturday in June (including today). These outdoor activities double as a place to meet other members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies and to make new connections and friendships.
- Morgantown Pride, in conjunction with Main Street Morgantown, will be hosting its Pride Parade at 7 p.m. June 13 (line-up at 5:45 p.m.). Line the sidewalks of High Street for this year’s parade. (Hopefully, Morgantown Police will have enough staff to work the event and it won’t have to be rescheduled like last year.)
- The Pride Block Party will follow from noon to 5 p.m. June 15 at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park, with food and shopping vendors, as well as live entertainment.
- Coinciding with the block party, Project Rainbow is hosting a scavenger hunt and bar crawl. The scavenger hunt starts at 1 p.m. at the block party in Hazel Ruby McQuain Park (requires a ticket, $10), followed by a bar crawl through downtown Morgantown (also requires a ticket, $30). Tickets can be purchased online at projectrainbowwv.com/event-details/pride-scavenger-hunt-bar-crawl.
- In Fairmont, PFLAG Fairmont will be hosting its own Pride celebration starting at noon June 8 in the Fairmont Greenspace, 105 Adams St. This event will include vendors and live performances.
There’s a saying we recently saw circulating on social media (forgive us if we don’t get the wording exactly right): “Why does Pride Month matter? Because there are still people out there who think they are better off dead than gay.”
It’s a little blunt, but it makes a valid point. Pride Month and all its activities show people who are still in the closet or questioning or in denial that — despite potential challenges and discrimination — it is possible to live as an out and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Not just live — thrive.
And when they are ready to come out, there are people inside and outside the LGBTQ+ community who will welcome and support them.
That’s why Pride matters.
