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Jamestown Pride Fest Flag Raised

"Vote with Pride" was the theme when the Progress Pride flag was raised on Jamestown City Hall Tracy Plaza recently.

The flag will fly for all of June, LGBTQ Pride Month.

Jamestown Pride treasurer Tim Starr opened the program, announcing the events planned for the 2023 Pride Festival from Thursday through Saturday. He shared how, growing up locally, he thought he was the only person who was gay.

Starr thanked the sponsors of the Pride Festival: Evergreen Health, The Chautauqua Center, Jamestown Public Market, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania, and the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist proclaimed "the month of June 2023 as Pride Month in the City of Jamestown, and urge[d] all residents to join in ending prejudice everywhere it may exist, respect and advocate for the rights of all people, and celebrate the diversity in the City of Jamestown." He noted that, "Pride is a fight for equality in human rights across this nation," and concluded, "(L)et us raise this flag to remind everyone that the City of Jamestown will accept nothing less than a community rooted in equality and hope…hope for a more inclusive future."

Events scheduled for this weekend's Jamestown Pride Festival are:

Thursday at 5:30 p.m., Slow Roll, Winter Garden Plaza, 313 North Main Street

Friday at 6:30 p.m., award-winning photographer B. Proud, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 410 North Main Street

Saturday, June 10

¯ 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pride Market, Third Street between Cherry and Pine streets;

¯ 10:30 a.m., Yoga by Ample Movement, Winter Garden Plaza, 313 North Main Street;

¯ 6:30 to 8 p.m., Drag Queens from Lip Poppin Productions followed by dancing until 2 a.m., Sneakers Bar, 10 Harrison Street; and

¯ Sunday at 10 a.m., Pride Service, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 410 N. Main St.

For more information, visit JamestownPride.org and Jamestown Pride's Facebook page Facebook.com/JamestownPride.