Seasonal & Holidays
South Orange And Maplewood Celebrate Pride Together, In Person
SOMA Pride brings together residents of both towns. As New Jersey reopens, there will be many in-person events.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — With pride month coming up, South Orange and Maplewood have a full calendar of activities planned out. And as New Jersey reopens and gatherings slowly come back, there will be plenty of in-person events, including a march and rally, a picnic, a block party, and many more events.
SOMA Pride brings together residents of both towns in celebration of all LGBTQ+ identities.
Town officials highlighted the special importance of this year's pride celebrations.
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"We will raise our voices and lock hands after a year of being isolated, silenced, and disconnected, after four years of being under attack and on the precipice of yet another big Supreme Court ruling on which our dignity and right to co-exist hang,” said Deputy Mayor and Maplewood’s first out and proud LGBTQ+ elected official, Dean Dafis.
Dafis will usher in PRIDE Month with the reading of a Pride Proclamation, on June 1, at 7:30 p.m., during the Township Committee Zoom Meeting.
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"So far this year more than 200 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in over 33 states, making 2021 a record year with anti-LGBT legislation targeting LGBTQ+ persons especially trans youth," Vice President of the South Orange-Maplewood School District Board of Education, Shannon Cuttle, also pointed out.
Cuttle is the first transgender non-binary elected official in New Jersey.
South Orange Trustee Bob Zuckerman added: “This past year has been a rough one, so it's going to be especially meaningful to come together as one community on June 2 for our PRIDE flag raising."
Here is the events schedule:
Webinar: LGBTQ+ Legislation and What It Means to Communities and Providers
June 1, 12 p.m. – Virtual
LGBT Senior Housing
SOMA PRIDE 2021 – Township Committee Meeting PRIDE Proclamation
June 1, 7:30 p.m. – Virtual
Maplewood Township Committee
PRIDE Month Flag Raising
June 2, 7 p.m. – Flag Pole at South Orange Ave. & Irvington Ave.
South Orange Village, Maplewood Township
Lavender Graduation
June 3, 6:30 p.m. – CHS Auditorium
Maplewood Township, South Orange Village, Columbia High School
SOMA Equality March & Rally
June 6, 10 a.m. – Ricalton Square to Town Hall
Maplewood Township, SOMA Action, SOMA Justice, Columbia High School
SOMA Youth Pride Picnic
June 6, 12:30 p.m. – Springfield Ave Gazebo
Maplewood Township, SOMA Action, SOMA Justice, Columbia High School
Divine Feminist: An Anthology of Poetry & Art by Womxn & Non-Binary Folx
June 6, 5:30 p.m. – Woodland West Side Yard
Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
“In Between Land and Territories - Ali Asgar Virtual Presentation
June 10, 7:30 p.m. – Virtual
Maplewood Library, Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
PRIDE 2021 Mini Film Festival
- “Tongues Untied” Documentary: June 11, 7 p.m. – Woodland Great Hall; Maplewood Division of Arts &Culture
- “Pink Boy” Documentary: June 12, 12:30 p.m. – Woodland Great Hall; Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
- “As One” – Chamber Opera Digital Stream: June 12, 2 p.m. – Woodland Great Hall; Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
- “Upstairs Inferno” Documentary: June 12, 7 p.m. – Woodland Great Hall; Progressive Theater, Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
“One Two Three” Book Discussion
June 14, 7:30 p.m. – Virtual
[words] Bookstore
SOPAC Pride Trivia Night
June 17, 7:30 p.m. – Virtual
SOPAC
Be Allies to our LGBTQ+ Friends and Families
June 17, 7:30 p.m. – Virtual
CHS Spectrum Club, SOMA Two Towns for All Ages
Hilton Neighborhood Association
Virtual Pride 21 - Social Justice Power Hour
June 12, 7 p.m. – Virtual
Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice
12th Equality Walk
June 12, 12 p.m. – Atlantic City
June 13, 1:30 p.m. – Montclair
Garden State Equality
North Jersey Pride Picnic
June 13, 3 p.m. – Memorial Park Amphitheater
North Jersey Pride, Maplewood Community Services
Big Queer Block Party
June 18, 7 p.m. – Maplewood Village
SOMA Justice, North Jersey Pride, Newark LGBT Community Center
“This Is Our Story” – A Coming Out Anthology
June 17 & 19, 7 p.m. – OSPAC Outdoor Theater, West Orange
June 25 & 26, 8 p.m. – The Burgdorff Center
+ Preshow LGBTQ+ Business & Resource Fair, June 25 & 26, 7pm
InterACT Theater Productions, Pleasant Valley Productions
Conversation with Alex Gino, Teen Author
June 24, TBD – Virtual
South Orange Public Library
“The View Upstairs” Musical
June 25, 26, 7:30 p.m. – Woodland Great Hall
Progressive Theater
Morris County Pride
June 26, 11 a.m. – Morristown
Morris County Pride
Family Photo Day
June 26, 1 p.m. – Farrell Field
South Orange Village Center Alliance, South Orange Village
Drag Queen Bingo
June 27, 1 p.m. – Sloan Street
South Orange Village Center Alliance, South Orange Village
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin with Q&A
June 28, TBD – Virtual Screening
SOPAC, South Orange Village
“Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old” with Author Steven Petrow
June 30, 7:30 p.m. – Virtual
[Words] Bookstore
There is also a number of month-long activities:
LGBTQI+ Artist Spotlights
Social Media/Website
Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
“AS ONE” LGBTQ+ Youth Exhibit
1978 Art Center + Social Media
CHS Spectrum Club, Funky Fun Art, Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture
SOMAtv PRIDE Month Event Coverage
Channel 19 - Cablevision South Orange | Channel 22 & 44 - FiOS South Orange
Channel 35 - Comcast Maplewood | Channel 22 - FiOS Maplewood
Channel 24 - FiOS - Maplewood - Town Government Broadcasts Only
YouTube | SOMAtv.org
South Orange Maplewood Community Television
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