First Bethlehem Pride Fest takes place on June 22

Kenwood Avenue Methodist Church Will Host

DELMAR –Bethlehem’s first Pride Fest, hosted by the First United Methodist Church on Kenwood Avenue at the Four Corners, will take place on Saturday, June 22 from 12-4 p.m..  Pride Fest will feature a main stage with performances, dancing, a family friendly kidzone and 30 vendors.  Anyone who misses the main event or to continue the celebration can attend an after-party starting at 4 p.m. at the Real McCoy, which will feature Ben & Jerry’s of Albany, the Cruet pizza Truck and a cover band.

Pride Fest Coordinator Nora Yates said, “I think everyone is looking forward to celebrating.”

“We invite everyone to come out to the event,” Yates said. “And wear sunscreen and comfortable shoes.”

Yates said putting Pride Fest together was a lot of work, but a lot of fun too and thanked her committee of 25 volunteers.

Performances on stage will include local children singing and dancing, respectively, as part of  Broadway Bound and The Dance Experience studios.  Philly Pina, UltraViolet, and Stella Progress, three drag queen artists, will also perform.  The musical acts on stage will be interspersed with dance music DJed by RVUMBA.

SIRSY, a pop rock band, will close out the event, starting at around 3 p.m.

Yates said the coordinating committee sought to draw on local and regional performers.  She said childrens’ groups were chosen because the festival is for families and the kids performing are a great resource in the Bethlehem community.

Regarding the drag queen performances, Yates said, “they are part of our community and have been going on since forever.  We have a wonderful celebration of how great our world is and they are fantastic performers and a fantastic addition to the stage show for the first ever Bethlehem Pride Fest.”

Food trucks will serve up snacks and meals to festival attendees.  Two ice cream trucks – one featuring artisanal ice cream and Mr. Ding-A-Ling will scoop cold refreshments. The event has over 35 sponsors, with sponsorship levels ranging from $200-$1,000.

Yates encouraged everyone to attend the after party once the main event is over.  “Just walk down the rail trail,” Yates said.  “This will be a chance for Part Two of the celebration if you want to get a sitter for the kids.”

“I’m just so excited for our town because I don’t think a festival like this that has live music, stage performances, vendors and a kid zone has ever happened in Delmar,” Yates said.  “This is a chance to have our supporters celebrate and come out and be part of that celebration.”

Reverend Steven Smith, the church’s Senior Pastor,said the festival is “a part of ministry” and “identifies the congregation to be open and welcoming and to stand as allies with LGBTQ people.”

Smith said when he found out the Pride Festival needed a central and visible location, he was “happy to provide that space.”  He explained that the church is a very community oriented congregation and holds a weekly farmers market, a Christmas Day dinner for seniors and other events.  “We are a place of gathering and it is important for us to make witness that there are people of faith who believe LGBTQ are loved by G-d, welcomed in church and it is not a sin.”

Smith was unaware of any other clergy who had offered to host Pride Fest. He said there may be other clergy who are supportive but their congregations are not supportive and they are walking that path.  “I don’t judge that.  It is a process to bring people along,” Smith said.

“We love that the church is hosting us,” Yates said.  “It has been a fantastic partner in partnering and is a welcoming congregation.  This fits within the mission and we are thrilled to have their support.”

In May, at their quadrennial meeting called the General Conference, United Methodist church delegates adopted a revised definition of marriage and deleted from their rule book, known as the Book of Discipline, a condemnation of homosexuality.   In addition, it overturned a 40 year ban on the ordination of gay clergy and penalties for pastors who officiate at same sex weddings.

Smith said eight years ago he presided over the local Methodist church meeting when the church voted to become a “reconciling congregation.”  At that time, although not sanctioned by the larger Methodist Church body, the church made a public statement of welcome of all people without regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity and began to allow same sex marriages in their building.

Smith, who has a transgender daughter and personally has worked for the last 38 years since he was 17 years old for these changes, has also sought to have the church include non-binary gender identification in how the church reports on its membership demographics.

The United Methodist Church is the third largest denomination in the United States, after Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists, according to United Methodist News.

Smith, who will attend Pride Fest, said  “This is an opportunity to be seen and known and to build relationships.” He looks forward to hearing the band SIRSY play.

Smith already plans to have the church host the second Pride Fest next year.  “We most definitely will do it next year. It has been a great experience for our congregation,” Smith said.

“We made the statement and now we need to put our words into action in terms of our mission as a congregation and to fully strengthen relationships in the community.  We have to build trust with the gay and trans community so they can feexl they don’t have to be scared of us,” Smith said.

Yates said she is also already looking forward to next year’s Pride Fest.  “We have lots of ideas we want to try out for next year,” she said.

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