Pride Events 

Pride Month Kick-Off and Flag Raising 
When: Wednesday, June 1, at 9am-12noon  
Where: Main Street, Middletown, and City Hall, 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT 
About:  Kick-off Pride month with us! We will start the event at the Middlesex Health pride flag raising at 9am.  The official Middletown Pride kick-off will be at the Pride crosswalk on Main Street at 10am, and will then head over to City Hall to raise the City’s pride flag and issue a Mayoral proclamation for Pride Month! 
   
Drag Queen Story Hour 
When: Wednesday, June 1, at 6pm  
Where: Crystal Lake in McCutcheon Park, 100 Livingstone Road, Middletown, CT 06457 
About:  Join us for an outdoor storytime for Pride month with Midnight, Ethel De Luxe, and Mia at Crystal Lake in McCutcheon Park.  We will read books and share rhymes and songs for kids ages 4-8 and their families. We encourage attendees to bring a blanket to sit on since we will set up in the grass by the pavilion that day. For kids age 4-8 (Pre K – 3rd Grade), siblings and families welcome!  Registration is encouraged (and will close 24 hours before the event begins).  Register here:  https://russelllibrary.libcal.com/event/9151670 
 
Pride Charity Drag Show @ Jerry’s Pizza 
When: Friday, June 3, at 9 pm.  
Where: Jerry’s Pizza, 635 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457 
About:  Join our host Astra S’Lay and DJ Ambrosia Black for an exciting evening to raise funds for the state’s pride centers, the Triangle Community Center and the New Haven Pride Center!  
  
4th Annual Middletown PrideFEST 
When: Saturday, June 4, at 2pm-10pm  
Where: Main Street, Middletown 
About:  The 4th Annual Middletown PrideFEST will take place on June 4, 2022 (rain date June 5, 2022) from 2 – 10 p.m. in downtown Middletown.  PrideFEST is an all afternoon street fair on Main Street, Middletown that combines exhibitors, entertainers, food, activities for all ages, including a 21+ area, and will feature our Pride March (2pm-4pm), Pride Rally on the South Green featuring the Legendary Drag Show (4 pm -6:30 pm), and Pride Showcase Concert (7 pm-10 pm).  Music and sound for PrideFEST is provided by DJ Lady Tita and Ambassador Entertainment!  For more information about the day, including ADA accommodation and parking, please visit our website at: https://middletownpride.org/pridefest-2022/ 
 
Band Night at Wadsworth Mansion 
When: Thursday, June 9, 5-9 p.m.  
Where: Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estates, 421 Wadsworth Street, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: Rock out with us at Middletown Pride’s FIRST EVER Band Night!  Featuring some of the state’s finest musicians, join us outside at the Wadsworth Mansion from 5pm-9pm for an evening of live music.  There will be vendors, food trucks, and a cash bar!  Featuring: The Carrie Ashton Band, Love N’Co, and Sister Funk! 
 
Pride Self Defense Class 
When: Friday, June 10, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm.  
Where: 360 Defense Martial Arts, 725 Main Street, Unit 21, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: Come learn effective fundamental self-protection skills! You will get to practice basic striking, defenses, and what happen to the body under stress and ways to work through it so that you can get home safely! No experience required and we can adjust so that things work for you as an individual. Register here at:   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pride-self-defense-class-tickets-347235720387 

Downtown Cleanup with Cinder + Salt 
When: Saturday, June 11, at 10 am.  
Where: Cinder + Salt, 195 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: Join us for a healthy dose of eco-activism & pride right outside of Cinder + Salt’s storefront, at 195 Main St, in Middletown, at 10 am. We’ll supply all the gear you need including trash grabbers, buckets & gloves.  The first 100 participants who register will receive a free PRIDE volunteer t-shirt! Approximately one week before the event you will receive an email confirming your registration. There will be a short survey requesting your shirt size; please respond by June 8! 

Silent Dance Party  
When: Sunday, June 12, from 6pm – 8 pm  
Where: First Church, 190 Court Street, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: Join Russell Library and our friends from QPlus for a Silent Dance Party on Sunday, June 12 at 6:00 p.m.  Food and refreshements will be available. This event will take place at First Church.  Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts.  Covid Library Event guidelines: to ensure everyone’s safety we request that if any member of your household is experiencing Covid symptoms or is quarantining, we ask that you stay home. Register here at:  https://russelllibrary.libcal.com/event/9240380 

Craft Night 
When: Wednesday, June 22 from 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm  
Where: McCutcheon Park at Crystal Lake, 100 Livingston Road, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: For young people age 13 – 20.  Join Russell Library and our friends from QPlus as we make a stress ball while we talk about what causes us stress and how to manage it, including sharing various stress relief/management techniques, identifying ‘warning signs’ for when you need to take a self-care break, and how to decide what type of self-care is necessary (sure, blast your favorite song, but also have some water).Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts.  Register here:  https://russelllibrary.libcal.com/event/9239617 
 
Drag Queen Story Hour 
When: Thursday, June 23 at 7pm  
Where: The Wadsworth Mansion, 421 Wadsworth Street, Middletown, CT 06457 
About:  Join us for an outdoor storytime for Pride month with Hella Swagg, Kenya Mone Heart, and Ivanna on the lawn of the Wadsworth Mansion!  We will read books and share rhymes and songs for kids ages 4-8 and their families. We encourage attendees to bring a blanket to sit on since we will set up in the grass that day. For kids age 4-8 (Pre K – 3rd Grade), siblings and families welcome! Registration is encouraged (and will close 24 hours before the event begins).  Register here:  https://russelllibrary.libcal.com/event/9151672 

Movie Night @ Wadsworth Mansion 
When: Thursday, June 23, 7:30 p.m.  
Where: Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estates, 421 Wadsworth Street, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: Join for our second annual Middletown Pride Movie Night @ the Wadsworth Mansion!  This year, we are delighted to partner with Out Film CT, a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting outstanding LGBTQ cinema.  There will be food trucks, vendors, and a cash bar, but feel free to bring a picnic for you and your group!  Doors open at 7:30 pm, and the movie will start at sunset. This year, we will be showing Dramarama (2020), directed by Jonathan Wysocki.  A teen coming of age movie, it takes place in 1994, as a closeted teen struggles to part ways with his 4 high school drama friends at their final slumber party before they leave for college.  More information about the movie is available here:  https://www.dramaramathemovie.com/ 
 
Movie Night @ Wesleyan University 
When: Friday, June 24, 9 p.m.  
Where: Foss Hill, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06457 
About:  Our second movie night of the year, and our first one at Wesleyan University! For this screening, Middletown Pride has partnered with the Wesleyan College of Film.  The event will be outdoors on Foss Hill, located at Wesleyan University, and will be bring your own food and drinks!  The movie will start at 9 pm. We will be showing The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), directed by Stephan Elliott, and is an Australian road comedy film that follows two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and a transgender woman, played by Terence Stamp, as they journey across the Australian outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named “Priscilla”, along the way encountering various groups and individuals.  The movie is rated R and is not suitable for all ages. 
 
Youth Open Mic Night 
When: Sunday, June 26, at 6pm  
Where: Harbor Park, Middletown, CT 06457 
About: Join Russell Library and our friends from QPlus for an Open Mic event on Sunday, June 26!  Youth performers (and audience members of all ages) are welcome. Come share your art, poetry, drag, dance, song etc. This session will take place at Harbor Park. Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the event starts.  Register here:  https://russelllibrary.libcal.com/event/9240265 

Pride Month Finale: Honoring the Trailblazers 
When: Thursday, June 30, at 6:30 pm 
Where: Middlesex County Historical Society, 151 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457  
About:  This year, Middletown Pride will end with our Pride Month Finale, where we will honor our LGBTQIA+ trailblazers, the brave people who made Pride possible.  Speakers will share memories, reflections, and a taste of Connecticut's remarkable LGBTQIA+ history. There will be plenty of time before and after to see old friends, make new ones, and hear stories from our trailblazing activists.  The event will be held rain or shine. Please enter through the side gate in Spear Park, corner of Main and William Streets.  Contact the Middlesex County Historical Society at mchs@wesleyan.edu with any questions. 


-Middletown Pride Team  
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Check out our calendar of events for a full listing of our events and programs on our website (https://middletownpride.org/events/), details on PrideFEST (https://middletownpride.org/pridefest-2022/).