The flowing fabrics of dancers dressed as butterflies, drag queens, and local businesses, along with bands playing “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, filled the streets on Sunday, June 8, for Woodstock’s Pride Parade—a festive march from Comeau Drive to Colony.
“It’s not common in Pride parties that there’s so many families. That is very Woodstock,” said Jennifer Brown, a secretary for Queerly, Inc., the organization behind the weekend of festivities.
Woodstock Pride and Queerly received strong support from Woodstock residents and the broader Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ community. The nonprofit was founded by Aileen Morgan and Megan Ghiroli, who created Woodstock Pride after organizing weekly queer meetups beginning in late 2022. When Brown later joined the effort, she and her partner became part of the expanding team that helped grow the celebration into a full weekend of programming.
The shadows of stilt walkers and a trail of popping bubbles lined the streets. Among the crowd was Michelle Kennedy, a Woodstock resident since 2015, who saw the event as a personal turning point. Kennedy recently ended her relationship with a man and came out to her children as bisexual.
“It’s a weird time for me to come out in the political climate that’s going on,” said Kennedy. “My daughter was like, ‘I don’t think you should do it. This is poor timing.’ But I just felt it was right.”
Meg Columbia-Walsh, a committee member with Queerly, Inc. in charge of volunteers, came out at age 15 after falling in love with her best friend.
“It was not until later and going to New York and being exposed to gay bars and people like myself that I was like, I got to stop fighting this. I have to just be true to who I am,” she said.
She didn’t come out to her Irish Catholic mother until she was 28, fearing the reaction. Her mother took her to the priest.
“It’s not really only about rainbows, right? This is about people, civil rights,” Columbia-Walsh said. “In a year like 2025 with everything going on, it’s more important than ever to have the community feel safe, to have fun and also to be an example to young people to have hope and know that it’s okay.”
Rosie McCobb, 56, splits her time between Woodstock and Kingston but lived in New York City until 2020.
“You should be allowing people to express whoever they are and accept that, because no matter who you are from whatever sub-group you identify with, your soul is who you are, not the way that you arrived into this body,” said McCobb.
McCobb describes herself as an “adjunct member” of the LGBTQ+ community. As a straight woman who often danced in gay bars in her youth, she feels drawn to queer culture.
“People should not tell other people how to identify,” she said.
Her rainbow-adorned 4-year-old labradoodle, Nova, joined in the celebration. “She is representing as well, as a lover of the world and lover of all humans,” said McCobb.
Victor Torres and Tony Bowser, a married couple from Kingston, said they feel it’s essential for smaller towns like Woodstock to celebrate Pride.
“I think that with the influx of people from the city and all over there’s definitely gay people who live out here,” said Torres, who works in radiology at Kingston Hospital. “It’s kind of nice to be out and let people know who we are in the community.”
After an afternoon filled with joy and reflection, the parade ended with a party at Colony. Artists performing included Rock Academy Showband, D Michael V, Unicorn Brass Band, stilt walkers, and more.
“I think we’re educating the business owners in the community that visibility is really important, and it’s not just a driver for business and customers, but it builds loyalty,” said Brown. “You’re basically saying, we care about you. We want you to be here.”
Brown added that creating a safe space through representation isn’t just good for the community, it’s also good for business. According to The Pride Co-Op, an LGBT+ market research agency, The LGBT+ community has a spending power of roughly $1.4 trillion in the United States.
Parade participants included the Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center, Catskill Mountain Music Together, Mid-Hudson Valley Credit Union, St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, and Wuffy.
In the “Windows of Woodstock” storefront decorating contest, Bread Alone took first place for the most vibrant Pride display, earning a $500 prize. Le Shag was named runner-up and awarded $250.
Mia Quick is an intern and contributing reporter. You can reach her at reporting@theoverlooknews.com.