“Our intention was always to build an inaugural event that could be scaled in the future,” Rechtschaffen said. and the Mill District Local Art Gallery, said that with parades and other events throughout the region, supporting what she calls the amazing queer artists and local performers in the Pioneer Valley seemed sensible. Hannah Rechtschaffen, director of Placemaking for W.D. While Amherst has long supported LGBTQ+ pride, this year will be the first time when numerous events are happening in town for the occasion.Īmherst Pride at the Mill District, as the two-day event is being dubbed, is an outgrowth of work done by a committee exploring how Amherst could best get people to have fun around the observance. The flag-raising, at 5:30 p.m., includes the reading of a proclamation, adopted by the Town Council, marking June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, for the fourth year in a row, and expressing the town’s values in support of diversity, inclusion and equal rights. AMHERST - Amherst officials are raising the gay pride flag in front of Town Hall Friday afternoon, beginning a weekend of community activities, in the Mill District in North Amherst, to celebrate gay pride.
