June is Pride month, and towns around Connecticut are hosting events to honor and celebrate LGBTQ+ communities. In Darien, people are organizing the town’s first large-scale Pride party.
Residents, organizations and even the town hall in Darien displayed Pride flags last June, but this weekend marks the town’s first big pride celebration.
Krista Carnes, an event organizer, said Darien has usually been “a town of tradition,” but that’s changing and Carnes hopes young people hear messages of support.
“That special place now includes a whole lot of people who want to be free to be who they are and love who they are and celebrate who they are," Carnes said.
Dan Guller, event committee chair, said there hasn’t been someone to step up and organize a Pride event in Darien before. The event will also honor Darien High School students who last year spoke up about being harassed because of their sexual orientation.
The weekend event comes as multiple Pride signs in Darien have recently been stolen or defaced, and businesses have received complaints about displaying the Pride flag, according to the Darien Pride planning committee.
In a statement, the planning committee called on locals to “help us to achieve our mission of making our Darien community just like our Inaugural Celebration of Pride: Open and welcome to all.”
The work to battle intolerance will continue beyond this month, Guller said.
“I think there are more conversations we can have,” Guller said. “And it looks like it’s up to us to drive that. So we will.”
Learn more
Darien Pride takes place Sunday, June 12, from noon to 4 p.m. at Tilley Pond Park in Darien. More information is available at darienpride.org.
Here are some other Pride events coming up in Connecticut:
- Norwalk Pride in the Park, Saturday, June 11
- Hamden Pride, Saturday, June 18
- West Hartford Pride, Saturday, June 25
