Beckley Pride’s 5th Birthday Bash

BECKLEY (WVNS) – Pride month was being celebrated in Beckley on Saturday, June 8th.

From food, booths, to music, residents stopped by to celebrate Pride Month in Southern West Virginia. ‘Beckley Pride’ was founded in 2019 and it is a non-profit organization.

59News stopped by a few vendors to see their wares and what brought them to the event.

Erica Bowden, Owner of Auntie E’s Custom Order Bakery, said they love participating in this event for the community.

“We love the Beckley Pride celebration because it is a very inclusive event. It’s one that is bringing the community together. It’s nice to see everyone come out and celebrate each other,” said Bowden.

Merchandise was available for purchase alongside helpful community resources.

Christina Baisden, President of Beckley Pride, said this celebration was special for their organization and everyone else.

“Back in 2019, the City of Beckley passed the Beckley Non-Discrimination Ordinance. Which adds LGBTQ people, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression to the protected classes. Beckley Pride was born out of that. A handful of us got together and said ‘hey, let’s have a picnic’ and just within a month it exploded into our first festival,” said Baisden to 59News.

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