A day filled with parade, pizza and pride
Cynthia Prairie | Jun 07, 2022 | Comments 1
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A perfect spring Saturday, June 4, drew out smiling folks carrying rainbow flags and wearing rainbow clothing to the Chester Green to show support for LBGTQ rights and celebrate Pride Month with a parade and children’s storybook readings at the Pizza Stone.
Restaurant owner Darlene Doane and her enthusiastic staff, with support from Smitty’s, which supplied free juice boxes and water, and Heritage Deli cookies, took over the event after the board of the Whiting Library “paused” it fearing controversy. Besides providing the venue and pizza, Doane used the event to raise funds for local LGBTQ support efforts.
Parade Photos by Linda Diak. Text and Pizza Stone photos by Cynthia Prairie. Click any photo to launch gallery.
People gather on the Chester Green on Saturday afternoon
to prepare to parade to the Pizza Stone to show support during Pride Month.
The parade attracted more than 20 supporters including a becrowned Carrie King, children’s librarian at the Whiting Library.
Families head to the Pizza Stone for Drag Queen Story Hour, an event that had previously been scheduled for the Whiting Library but was canceled.
Kermit may not find it easy being green but he certainly loves making the Rainbow Connection.
Performing on stage at the Pizza Stone are, from left, Katniss EverQueer, Yolanda and in white, Emoji Nightmare.
Emoji Nightmare reads to the children gathered at their feet.
Children and parents enjoy the performance.
Chester residents Bev Groshens and grandson Braydon enjoy a lunch during the performance.
Brandon residents Leah Waldron and mom Nicole Webb chat with a photographer during the reading.
The event drew more than 90 people, young and older.
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Filed Under: Chester • Featured • Latest News
About the Author: Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor more than 40 years. Cynthia has worked at such publications as the Raleigh Times, the Baltimore News American, the Buffalo Courier Express, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Patuxent Publishing chain of community newspapers in Maryland, and has won numerous state awards for her reporting. As an editor, she has overseen her staffs to win many awards for indepth coverage. She and her family moved to Chester, Vermont in 2004.
Thank you for covering this wonderfully spirited day! I’m pleased to have been visiting Andover and to have been able to attend this Pride celebration with my daughter-in-law and my three-year-old granddaughter and four-month-old grandson. Here’s hoping the library will see that there’s no reason to have backed off. We need all the community and love we can get—now more than ever!