The Park Church is hosting its third annual Elmira Pride Festival downtown on Saturday.
“Our goal this year was to have a safe place for joy,” said Jenny Monroe, Chairperson for the Elmira Pride Festival.
The church has been at the forefront of social justice since its inception. It was started in 1846 by abolitionists who worked to safely provide passage for enslaved people through Elmira on their way to freedom.
“When we looked at what we should be doing as 21st century Americans, this was a natural thing for us to embrace,” said Monroe. “We've been an open and affirming congregation for over 20 years, and that means that we do not discriminate in any way. Who you love, that is your choice, and what you express as gender in your life.”
Monroe said a community gathering like the Pride festival offers an informal way to meet one another—those who identify as LGBTQ+ and those who support LGBTQ+ individuals. This year’s festival will have local artists, food vendors and community organizations in Wisner Park next door to the Park Church.
According to Monroe, after the killing of a gay businessman in 2011, Pride events in the city subsided until the festival was brought back in 2022 when the church hired a new pastor.
“When Gary Brinn came to us three years ago as an out gay man and pastor, we thought, yep, this is the right thing for us to do, to bring it back,” said Monroe. “And it has been really embraced by the community.”
The Rev. Gary Brinn said it’s “more important than ever to say loud and proud that we are never going back” when asked about actions taken by the Trump administration to rescind policies that protected LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination and health care disparities and end DEI programs.
“Pride events save lives,” said Brinn. “So many young people are trapped in families and cultures that misunderstand basic biology and the cultural construction of gender, resulting in a high rate of self-harm and violence against LGBTQIA+ youth. Every chance we get to show that we are here, unashamed, and contributing to our community is a chance to change the world a little at a time.”
Event organizers said there are no specific safety concerns this year for the festival, but they hired off-duty law enforcement to help as a precaution.
Additional Pride celebrations in the Southern Tier include both Corning and Ithaca hosting events beginning on June 13 with all-day festivities on June 14. Ithaca continues its activities through Sunday. The Valley Pride Picnic in Waverly is happening on June 28. The Binghamton Pride Coalition has festivities planned all month, including a Pride flag raising on June 7 at city hall and a festival at Otsiningo Park on June 14th, followed by fireworks at the Martin Luther King Promenade.