By Samantha McCarthy—For the North Star Reporter
On Saturday, June 28, the North Attleborough Pride Festival will take place at Veterans Park, bringing a day of music, art and community.
The festival will go from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will be held rain or shine, with vendors, music, entertainment as well as a community art piece, the “Tunnel of Love,” which will be set up inside a large tent.
“This year, we’re going to do something called ‘Tunnel of Love,’ which is basically a tent Pride experience where you walk through and people can contribute what they love and things that may bring them love, and the things they love about Pride,” Sarah Cenedella, chairperson of North Attleborough Pride, said.
North Attleborough Pride has been pushing to create a community project every year since the beginning. This event has drawn hundreds of people from North Attleborough and surrounding towns to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning, along with intersex, and asexual or allies. The + stands for those who do not identify under those terms).
Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) Americans. Cenedella said that while Pride Month is important, people being able to be themselves authentically is something that should be celebrated all the time.
“I love bringing the community together to create something,” Cenedella added. “They’re not just coming to go to booths and dance to music, which is all awesome, but I like that this is a symbol of all of us coming together.”
Alongside the community project, attendees will be able to look forward to an acoustic guitar set from local musician Stephen Hodgman as well as a performance by the performance crew UPRISE.
State Rep. Adam Scanlon, D-North Attleborough, will act as emcee of the event, helping host the festivities for all to enjoy.
“I think it’s just been a really great collaborative effort by a core group of people who are just really passionate to create this really inclusive event in the community,” said Sarah Stone, who recently became involved in helping to organize the event.
Cendella and a group of volunteers have been working to make the annual Pride Festival thrive since its first year in 2022.
“It’s a very friendly event. We do have a lot of students who even volunteer that day, so I think it just really does bring so many people from all walks of life,” Stone added.
The event is funded by sponsors who show their support through their generous donations. Cendella noted Harmony Chiropractic, Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, Goldfish Swim School, and Attleboro Community Theater have gone out of their way to help.
“We welcome everyone to come to our event, it has a little of something for everyone, and we do this for the people that it’s for- it’s for the community and especially the youth of the community that need support at this time,” Cendella said.
Those with questions about the festival can contact northattleboropride@gmail.com.