'Everybody's Welcome' At Long Island Pride Parade

PATCHOGUE, NY — Patchogue has hosted LGBTQIA+-friendly events like Diversity Night at Alive After Five in 2019, but James Diele-Stein had always thought that there should be a Pride event, but he did not want it to "piggyback" on another event.

He wanted something that would stand out on its own.

Around three years ago, he struck up a conversation broaching the subject with Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce Executive Director David Kennedy, however, the Covid-19 pandemic struck shortly after, and he and his husband opened a business in the village, placing the idea on the back-burner until the world was up-and-running again.

Last year, Diele-Stein joined the chamber's Board of Directors and he was "itching" with the idea, again. He told Kennedy, he really wanted a pride event, but it wasn't until this past January that the idea took shape with a specific month — June for Pride Month and as a parade.

He told Kennedy at a chamber event that he wanted the event in June, to which Patchogue's longtime-event coordinator guru reacted with doubt, telling him, "'No way are you going to get that done.'"

Diele-Stein's mind was made up and he insisted.

"It's not that we shouldn't celebrate every year, but I want it in June and I don't want it mixed up with any other events," he recalled. "And he looked at me, and he's like, 'Okay, you like let's do it.'"

It was a Thursday, something he will never forget.

On Friday, Kennedy sent out an email inviting chamber members to a meeting, and over the next three days, Diele-Stein was bombarded by emails and phone calls with interest, offers of help, and questions about how they could be apart of it.

He was blown away when he and his husband showed up to the meeting.

"There were probably about 30 people at our first meeting just sitting there looking at me saying, 'Let's do this ... What are we doing?,'" Diele-Stein said. "I'm like, 'I have no idea. But we're doing but we're gonna figure it out.'"

He felt it was time for a Pride Parade.

For him, personality, romantic preference, skin color, occupation, societal connections, or family background.

"It's about just being proud of who you are," he said. "We can all agree to that we all should be proud of who we are," he said. "And that's what the Pride Parade represents: being proud of who you are."

"That's truly what pride means. To me, it means being proud of who you are, and not being able to not having to hide who you are," he added.

That first group of volunteers did figure what they were going to do together.

This Sunday, Patchogue will play host several Pride events, but the main one, will be the parade on Main Street kicking off at noon and ending at around 2 p.m.

As planned, the event will be inclusive.

"There really are no, we're gonna call them gay bars on Long Island, not that they're not gay-friendly," he said. "I am just saying that, you know, there's nothing that's really profoundly considered a gay bar, or like a gay atmosphere, and you don't have to be gay to have a great time and, to join us. It's all-inclusive."

As the news has spread, people have been reaching out with support from as far away as New York City. Some have attended a series of mixer fundraisers leading up to the event, all with thanks for hosting them.

Diele-Stein, parade co-chair, can't only credit himself or the committee because it's the village, restaurants, and business owners who are also involved, he says.

Those entities have worked together to show that the village is a safe space for everybody, "Come join us," he said.

"That's really what the parade stands for — that Patchogue Village is inclusive. Everybody's welcome, and we want everybody to have a great time and feel safe," he added.

Kennedy said the Greater Patchogue Foundation is "very proud" to host the Patchogue Pride Committee and support the first-ever Pride Parade.

"You know one of the great things about Patchogue is that everybody's always welcome and this is just another extension of that," he said, adding that there is a wonderful Pride community in the village. "It's going to be a lot of love on Main Street in Patchogue this Sunday and we're looking forward to it."

Tom Keegan, who chairs the foundation's Cultural Heritage Committee, said it's the committee's "pleasure to support the celebration of the diverse nature of the people that we have that live in Patchogue and come to shop and to go to our eateries, come to our churches, and otherwise carry on the aspects of life that we all in America are happy to say is part of being in America," he said.

"And we do not exclude people based on any kind of characteristics that they have or national heritage they have or their sexual orientation, because it's a wide tent that we have here in Patchogue."

Patchogue is open for all, Keegan said.

Sunday's parade will include marching groups, floats, a variety of performers, and also a special visit from Santa Claus and his eight crazy unicorns. Cheryl Felice, a South Country School District board member, will serve as the parade's grand marshal.

"Joan Rivers" will be with Discover Long Island commenting from the viewing stand.

There will be an official after-party at Stereo Garden from 3 to around 10:30 p.m., but it will be broken down into two parts.

The first one is free from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and that's family-friendly with vendors offering services to the LGBTQIA+ community.

For the second part, "Pride-A-Palooza," from 7 to about 10:30 p.m., it's for adults only with paid admission.

"There are going to be some touch-notch performers coming in from as far as New York City, Fire Island, and Rhode Island that will be performing, which is going to be just an outstanding evening," Diele-Stein said.

There will also be a pre-parade event.

The Congregational Church of Patchogue is having a “Patchogue Pre-Pride Parade Concert” on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. Performers include Craig Coyle and choir members, Kathleen Gubitosi, Kathy Ljungqvist and Rochelle Schmidt, Bob Arndts, and Ariana Castelli.

Rev. Ray Bagnuolo of the Sayville Congregational UCC will also participate in the service.

After Sunday's regular 10 a.m. church service, the doors to the church will be left open for visitors.

Diele-Stein said he expects the Pride Parade to be one of the largest events that the village has hosted.

The committee is asking everyone to come out and have a great time while being safe and respectful as they celebrate Pride, he said.

"And again, it doesn't matter who you are, who you love," he said. "We just want to see everybody waving that flag and having a great time, and letting everybody know that you know we're here for the same reason."