Hundreds of people gathered Sunday to celebrate Pride Month in Marblehead, beginning with a flag-raising ceremony outside Abbot Hall that blended advocacy, solidarity and community spirit.
Families, students, educators, elected officials and LGBTQ+ residents filled the lawn as the rainbow flag was raised. Speakers reflected on progress made toward equality while emphasizing the importance of continuing support and visibility.
Among them was Kayden Casale, a former student at Marblehead High.
“I am a 2010 grad of Marblehead High School. Back then you’d have known me as the very quiet, introverted field hockey captain. Here I am on a microphone with a beard, so life is funny sometimes,” he said. “Back in 2010 I don’t recall seeing many Pride flags in Marblehead — certainly not flying over the town at Abbot Hall. Coming in this morning looking for a parking spot, I also saw a rainbow bench at Mud Puddle Toys. I also saw a board with a giant Pride flag outside of the Little Theatre. I understand that not everyone in town supports Pride, however, these moments indicate that Marblehead as a whole supports Pride, and that really means something.
Casale urged the crowd to “bridge the gaps.”
“The coolest people in every single room are the people that bridge the gaps. They’re not the people that stand in their circles and don’t interact with anybody else. They’re not the people that see someone off to the side and say that person’s a little different, I don’t know if they’re for me. The coolest people in every room are the people that go up and bridge those spaces. This country would have a lot less noise going on if we could find the commonalities between each other and not the differences. So I encourage everyone that’s out here today, not only to root in the community of your queer community, but also your Marblehead community. Bridge the gaps today, make connections and carry those outside of Pride Month.”
Veterans Middle School art teacher Molly Hauptman spoke about the importance of helping students see themselves reflected in what they learn.
“I create lessons that include examples of work by artists from diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as different sexual orientations and gender identities,” Hauptman said. “I explain how those artists’ identities and personal histories helped shape their perspectives, their artistic voices, and therefore their artwork.”
She said representation in the classroom helps students feel valued and accepted.
“A cornerstone of helping students feel valued is choosing to show them work that I value, that was created by people who look, sound, and think like they do,” she said. “I feel so grateful to live and work in a state, a town, and under administrators who allow me to show and discuss work by a diverse group of artists, so that the children in this town can feel proud to claim all of their identities and to be part of all of their communities, a right that these days has been taken from too many educators in this country.”
State Rep. Jenny Armini, who lives in town, highlighted actions taken by Massachusetts lawmakers to protect LGBTQ+ rights and access to health care.
“The legislature created a new law to protect patients seeking gender-affirming care and their providers from federal and out of state meddling, Massachusetts businesses can no longer share your health care data, especially gender affirming and abortion information, and despite Washington’s brazen attacks, Massachusetts continues to provide funding for both,” Armini said.
She also pointed to legislation passed by the Massachusetts House this week.
“Just this week, the Massachusetts House banned book banning …protecting access to books from politically motivated censorship. Who decides what gets put on library shelves? Professional librarians, not one individual or one family or a politicized school committee, but people trained to assess age-appropriateness,” she said.
Following the ceremony, the celebration moved to Shubie’s Marketplace on Atlantic Avenue for a family-friendly Pride Fest featuring music, food, games and community organizations.
The event was larger than in previous years, according to Shubie’s General Manager Doug Shube.
“This year’s Pride party is bigger, better, and gayer,” Shube said, with twice as many vendors and participating organizations. This is really special, that we get to do this and be with our community, and that’s really what this is about, is being together and having each other’s back, and being supportive of each other. It’s really special that all these people are in our parking lot, just here to have fun and celebrate Pride.”
A colorful Pride flag mural painted on the driveway greeted visitors as they arrived. The mural was coordinated by Lindsay Berry, director of operations at Shubie’s. Marblehead High School art students picked up brushes to help out.
Asked whether the artwork would remain after the event, Shube smiled.
“It’s going to stay. It’s very permanent,” he said.
The Phelps family, of Marblehead, came out for the festivities.
“Pride is important to us — showing support for people being who they are, who they love,” said Kristen Phelps, who attended with her husband, Dan, and children Holden, 12, and Margo, 9.
Ruby, a dog dressed in a rainbow tutu, became a favorite among festivalgoers. Her handler, Chloe Pickering, summed up the mood of the day.
“We just love Pride. And we love Shubie’s,” Pickering said.
