When a rainbow-patterned flag is raised over City Hall on Monday, it will signal the beginning of a weeklong celebration of Central New York’s LGBT community, and how much the community has been able to accomplish.

Monday’s flag-raising ceremony is only the first of many events planned throughout the week.  Each year, CNY Pride, the volunteer organization that plans the week’s events, chooses two goals for the celebration.  Bruce Carter, the president of the board of CNY Pride and a Syracuse University associate professor of psychology and child & family studies, said this year’s goals consist of outreach to the religious community, as well as outreach to the transgender community.

To reach out to the religious community, an inter-faith service will take place at Unity Church, with about 20 religious leaders from various faiths and congregations participating.  Carter said that CNY Pride wanted to recognize those active in religion who chose to support, not shun, the LGBT community.

“You have people like the Westboro Baptist Church who go to protest at funeral services for enlisted people because they claim that homosexuality is sending the U.S. to hell,” Carter said. “We want to recognize the ones who are supportive.”

CNY Pride also chose to make Rev. Craig Herrick of the First English Lutheran Church the Grand Marshall of the parade in recognition of the support his church has provided for the LGBT community.

In an attempt to reach out to the transgender community, CNY Pride will pay homage to one of its most influential members, Divine. On Wednesday there will be a screening of “I am Divine,” a documentary following the life of the famous female impersonator who appeared in many cult films of the 70s and 80s.

The parade following the movie starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 21. Participants will march down West Genesee Street, and end at the Inner Harbor, where the festival will commence.  Carter said the estimated turnout is about 5,000 people.

The festival itself will feature diverse vendors and entertainment options, said Jayme Martin, the vice president of the board of CNY pride. Food vendors like Limp Lizard BBQ will have stalls for hungry festivalgoers while four different entertainers take the main stage.  The featured music includes Canadian bands the Bear Crusaders, and Reverse.

“We have some really good entertainment this year,” Martin said, “The groups are very diverse so you get different types of music from both bands.”

The festival will be hosted by Darienne Lake, a contestant from RuPauls Drag Race, and local female impersonator Courtney Wells.

There will also be special events for the youth of the LGBT community. Angela Diaz, the director of public relations for Pride Union, an organization dedicated to support the LGBT community at SU, organized special events such as a dunk tank and dance party. Diaz said that the more the youth get involved with events like CNY Pride’s parade and festival, the more unity the community will have.

Other than the entertainment that these events provide, CNY Pride wants the week to serve as a reflection of how far the LGBT community has come in Central New York. In 1987, the festival was almost shut down by the local government by requiring CNY Pride to pay $1 million in liability insurance, Carter said.

“We took the city to court to protest it as an unconstitutional encroachment on our freedom of speech and assembly, and the local judge actually decided against us but we marched anyway,” Carter said.

In stark comparison, Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner served as the Grand Marshal of the CNY Parade just three years ago, and attends the flag raising ceremony every year.

While progress has been made, Martin said that reminding people, especially the young, of the LGBT community’s history is an important part of appreciating what they have been able to achieve, and that there is still much they need to achieve in the future.

“We’re here, we’re out and you know, we just want to celebrate who we are, and just tell the world that we’re here to work and make things better for everybody,” Martin said. “Not just for the gay community, but for everybody.”

Published on June 16, 2014 at 4:31 pm

Contact Brendan: bskrisel@syr.edu