Middletown PrideFEST Details and Road Closures Released

MIDDLETOWN, CT — The 5th Annual Middletown PrideFEST, presented by Leonard Litz Foundation, is set for Saturday, June 3.

Middletown’s PrideFEST is an all-afternoon street fair on Main Street, combining exhibitors, entertainers, food, and activities for all ages, including a 21-plus area.

Main Street from Union Street to College Street will be closed from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for PRIDE vendors and activities, according to Middletown Police Department.

The events for PrideFEST start at 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. with a Middletown Pride Drag Artist Story Hour at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore featuring Kenya Mone Heart, Midnight and Ethel DeLuxe.

The Drag Artist Story Hour will be ASL Interpreted.

The event is for all ages but is recommended for ages three to eight.

>> Click here to register for this event.

Portable Toilets will be located at the following locations: South Green, Union Street, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way (Across from Main Street stage at Spear Park).

From 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., organizations will provide over a dozen healthcare services, including vaccinations, screenings, and much more.

At noon at Main Street Stage at Spear Park, Middletown PrideFEST will record a live podcast with Middletown Strong and Looking Up with Russell Library. During the podcast, Middletown Strong Co-Host Christy Billings sits down with two Connecticut Librarians to discuss the challenges they see around the state with book banning and how you can support keeping books on the shelves of local schools and libraries.

Following the podcast, a Question-and-Answer session will be available. The Podcast and Q and A session will be ASL interpreted.

Around 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Connecticut’s largest Pride March featuring over 75 marching groups, will march to demand social and economic justice locally, statewide, nationwide, and worldwide and to celebrate local LGBTQIA2S+ communities in solidarity with other oppressed groups.

The Pride March will start at the intersection of Spring Street and Main Street. Then, it will proceed south on Main Street until the junction with Union Street.

To make it a safe PRIDE, MARCH Middletown Police Department is closing several streets.

Starting at 12:30 p.m., road closures will include Main Street from College Street to St. John’s Square and Washington Street (Rt 66) from High Street to DeKoven Drive.

Police officials said motorists traveling over the Arrigoni Bridge from Portland will be directed down Hartford Avenue to Route 9.

This year, Middletown PrideFEST will feature its second annual pride rally from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on the South Green.

After the Pride March concludes, join the rally on the South Green with Grand Marshals Hella Swagg and Karleigh C. Webb, Mayor Benjamin Florsheim, the City’s LGBTQIA+ Commission, and others to take a stand together in solidary against the systemic oppression and violence towards LGBTQIA2S+ communities.

For the first time, Middletown Pride awarded each Grand Marshal a $1,000 donation to their charity or non-profit of choice.

New to Middletown, PrideFEST is the second stage for the showcase concert from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Middletown Pride Showcase Concert will feature performances by some of the state’s best drag artists, LGBTQIA2S+ groups, and live performers.

The event will be ASL interpreted.

To end Middletown PrideFEST, the 21 and over Tea Dance at PridePFEST is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Old Church Street.