Portsmouth PRIDE is returning to downtown Portsmouth on Saturday, October 9th! After COVID-19 forced our annual event online in 2021, we are back in-person with the march, rally, live performances, and marketplace from previous years.
Schedule
PRIDE kicks off at 12 p.m. in Portsmouth’s Market Square, where marchers will gather in groups. At 12:30 p.m., the march leaves Market Square and follows an accessible route down Court Street and Marcy Street to Strawbery Banke Museum’s Puddle Dock Field. All are welcome to join the march, and participants are encouraged to bring their own banners, signs,
flags, and costumes.
March Groups
Everyone ages 12 to 21 are invited to march with the Outright Youth group who will lead the procession. Other groups open to all ages include:
Black Lives Matter Seacoast
Out in the Boonies
Allies 4 Ever
Seacoast Queers With Kids (SQWK)
New England Aces
Join one of these marching groups at the event, or sign up to be in a march group ahead of time by clicking here.
Performances
Following the PRIDE March, entertainment will begin at the Mainstage at Strawbery Banke. The program will feature drag performances, spoken word and poetry, dance, and music by young performers from the Seacoast and surrounding areas, including a performance by Seacoast Repertory Theater’s teen company. Local band The Revolutionists will perform, and a dance party from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. will feature DJ WhySham, a Boston-based performer and “community DJ.” The New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities is providing ASL interpreters for the event.
Speakers
Speakers scheduled to appear at the event include:
Hershey Hirschkop, our Executive Director
Congressman Chris Pappas, NH Congressional District 1
Palana Hunt-Hawkins, Rochester City Councilor and co-founder of Affirming Spaces Project
Jim Splaine, Assistant Mayor of Portsmouth
Gerri Cannon, NH State Representative and Executive Director of Renaissance New England
Marketplace
The PRIDE Marketplace will be open at Strawbery Banke from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Booths include community resources, local artisans and businesses, and food vendors. Seacoast Outright youth volunteers will host free craft activities and games for the whole family.
A special fundraiser this year is a wedding dress contest. Visit the booth to see the ballgown, then write a few sentences about why you would love to own it and make a donation to Seacoast Outright to enter to win. Pride flags and other rainbow and Pride-themed merch will also be for sale with all proceeds benefiting Seacoast Outright’s youth programs.
Dogs and other pets are not allowed on the Strawbery Banke grounds.
Accessibility
The Calm Space, a new feature facilitated by Neighborhood Access, will be a sensory-friendly area under a pop-up tent in the Marketplace featuring stim tools, ear plugs, and a comfy, quiet area to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the festival. The New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities is providing ASL interpreters for the event, and the march route is fully accessible.
COVID-19 Guidelines
PRIDE 2021 is a vaccinated event, and masks are required for all participants ages 2 and older, regardless of vaccination status, when not eating. All events are outdoors, and we ask for your cooperation in following CDC guidelines to help make Portsmouth PRIDE as safe as possible for families with children too young to be vaccinated and other members of our community who may be at higher risk for infection.
A mobile vaccination clinic is scheduled to be on-site at the Strawbery Banke Museum from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to provide COVID-19 vaccinations at no cost to eligible people (ages 12 and older) who have not yet been vaccinated and who wish to attend the event. Youth ages 12 to 17 must either be accompanied by a parent/guardian or bring a signed consent form to the event in order to receive a vaccination (available here).
For more updates on PRIDE, visit seacoastoutright.org/events or sign up for our newsletter here! Please reach out to our PRIDE Coordinator Cecilia Kiely at pride@seacoastoutright.org or (978) 761-965 with any questions.