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Washington’s first Pride event postponed

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The Washington Gay Straight Alliance announced Monday that it will be postponing Washington County’s first-ever Pride festival, originally scheduled for June 27, until next year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have all lost sleep and agonized over this,” said Kathy Cameron, one of the founders of WCGSA. “We’re all very sad. Hopefully it will be a different world next summer.”

The Washington PA Pride Committee made the decision after having many discussions with health-care experts, government officials and other Pride organizations across the country, the organization said in a news release. The committee said the safety and well-being of the community is its top priority.

“We care about the safety and wellness of our sponsors, vendors, community partners, and entertainers that have been excited to work with us in this first-time event to celebrate the LGBTQA+ community in Washington, Pa.,” the committee wrote. “The attendees to this event are very important to the WCGSA Inc., and we do not wish to jeopardize their health and wellness.”

The event was moved to June 26, 2021, though the organization may try to still celebrate in a much smaller way this year. The committee said in the release that it will “evaluate our options,” whether it be a virtual or small group celebration, depending on the status of the pandemic in June. Cameron said if the group does have a small-scale event, it won’t use sponsor money for it.

Cameron said there was a lot of support from the community for the Pride festival. She said the organization owes it to their sponsors to hold the inaugural festival the right way next year.

“It’s something they really wanted to see happen in Washington County,” she said. “Everyone has been generous and on board. It was really a feeling of acceptance in a smaller rural community. It was going to be the first time, and to give that up, it’s sad.”

With June being LGBTQ Pride Month, Washington’s was one of several Pride parades and festivals across the country that have had to be postponed or canceled.

Chris Hansen, of Norwalk, Ohio, had planned an event for June 11, that also may be canceled. The event was to honor victims of hate crimes, a topic very dear to his heart.

Hansen is a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., June 12, 2016, which claimed the lives of 49 people and injured another 53. Hansen still keeps in his home the Time magazine edition that features the victims, their pictures and stories.

“Sometimes I look at it and wonder, why was I not on that list?” Hansen said, emotion gripping his voice.

He wasn’t on that list, and that’s why he’s made it his mission to remember and honor those who were. For the past two years, Hansen created and is campaigning to make June 11 a nationally recognized day called Reflections of Resilience Day, to remember and honor people who have suffered from acts of hate.

This year, his plan was to hold an event at the Huron, Ohio County Courthouse, during which he would read names of victims of hate crimes and violence, tell their stories and ring the courthouse bells to recognize them. However, due to the pandemic, those plans may have to change.

“Even if the event gets canceled, I’ll get a little hand bell and ring it,” Hansen said. “I will not let this day not get celebrated or those that need to be honored not be honored. If I have to sit up there and do it on Facebook Live, I will.”

Hansen, who attended his first Pride celebration at 19 years old in Washington, D.C., feels very strongly about celebrating Pride each June.

“Pride is more than a drag show and parade,” he said. “It’s an expression that you have a place. It is so important because you don’t know what it will give each person, whether it’s a smile on their face or another day to live.”

In the Mid-Ohio Valley, Jeanne Peters is the president for Out MOV, an organization that hosts an event each October, which is National Coming Out Month. She said the group hasn’t canceled its fall event yet, but will if it remains unsafe.

Peters said Pride celebrations are so important to the LGBTQ community, calling them a “sacred place.”

“Not only do they reinforce visibility, they also give us a place to be with our family, with our community and feel safe,” Peters said. “It’s that one spot where you can just be yourself and be surrounded by people who get it. The loss of those celebrations this year is going to be devastating.”

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