By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
The North Attleborough Pride Festival returned on June 28 for its fourth consecutive year, welcoming hundreds of members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community to Veterans Park.
More than 60 vendors lined the sidewalks on a cool and cloudy Saturday afternoon, showcasing hand-crafted goods, arts and crafts, baked goods and pride for what makes their community unique.
State Rep. Adam Scanlon (D-Mansfield) kicked off the event at 2 p.m., taking to the gazebo to spread a message of compassion over fear, facts over fear-mongering and love for the LGBTQ+ community that he is proud to be a part of.
“Massachusetts has always been a place where change begins. We’re the first state to legalize same-sex marriage,” said Scanlon. “But progress doesn’t just happen on Beacon Hill, it happens right here in North Attleborough in our schools, our places of worship, our small businesses and our neighborhoods.”
One such place of worship was Murray Unitarian Universalist Church of Attleboro, which joined Goldfish Swim School of Attleboro, Harmony Chiropractic, Peak Pediatric Care and Attleboro Community Theater as a sponsor of the festival. Carol Konvalinka-Connolly, director of religious exploration, handed out “pronoun pins” throughout the day to promote the church’s key values, such as equity, transformation and generosity.
“Unitarian universalism is a religion that is centered in love,” said Konvalinka-Connolly. “We believe in the worth and dignity of each and every person.”
Highlights from the day included a “pride hand flag” crafting table, photo booth and drag queen story time and show, along with live music from School of Rock and Stephen Hodgman Acoustic. A Tunnel of Love also drew crowds, encouraging visitors to write messages of what they love, may bring them love, and what they love about Pride.
“I love bringing the community together to create something,” said Sarah Cenedella, chairperson of North Attleborough Pride. “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.”
According to Cenedella, who donned a matching “Blooming with pride, rooted in love” shirt alongside her team of volunteers, this year saw the largest number of vendors ever for the Pride Festival, and she looks forward to continuing growing the event.
Attleboro Community Theater handed out bracelets and candy in support of an event it has sponsored for three years in a row. Former president of the theater, Douglas Greene, kept his response short and sweet as to why the organization continues to turn out year after year.
“We’re a theater,” said Greene. “Without gay people, we lose half of the theater.”
Jason Pagano, owner of an indie book publishing company called Silk Rhode Books, was excited to host a table at his first-ever pride festival as a queer business owner. Named for the ancient Silk Road that ran through Central Asia and served as a way to trade cultures and ideas, Pagano’s business specializes in books that represent parts of the world not usually seen, some of which he writes himself.
“Representation is very important to me,” said Pagano. “The American market is very saturated, but there’s a lot of the world that’s very unrepresented in their stories.”
Endlyn was another author who took to the festival to showcase her novels, many of which feature gay main characters. Endeyn, who identifies as an aromantic asexual, lives right up the street from Veterans Park in North Attleborough and said this is the third pride festival she’s attended this month in hopes of finding new audiences for her fantasy writing.
“Pride is not about politics, it’s about people,” said Scanlon at the end of his welcoming speech. “You are not alone, your identity is not something to hide; it’s something to be proud of. I see you, and today all of us see you, and we are so glad you’re here.”