#PrideMonth kicks off in #Maine with celebrations and resources for #LGBTQ+ community  🏳️‍🌈

by Aysia Reed, June 2nd 2025 at 5:59 AM

#PortlandME (WGME) -- "It's Pride Month and there are multiple celebrations kicking off across the state this June. It's also important to recognize resources available for the #LGBTQ+ community.

#EqualityMaine is an organization working to secure full equality for #LGBTQ+ people.

"They have plenty of resources for LGBTQ+ youth, including what #StudentRights are in #Maine to information about #QueerCamps for ages 13 - 17.

"Equality Maine also has resources for networking for older adults. That includes a virtual statewide social hour on June 11 and a LGBTQ+ lunch in Hallowell at their community center.

"The group says there has been a lot of concern about changes to transgender health care but ensures there are still strong legal protections in Maine for #transgender health care in the state.

"There are Pride celebrations taking place in Portland, #OgunquitME, Lewiston-Auburn, and more this month.

"The #PridePortland Parade and Festival will be held in Portland on June 21.

"It's Maine’s largest Pride parade. It kicks off at 1:30 p.m. at Monument Square with more than 100 groups expecting to march.

"This year's theme is '#MaineTranscends.'

"A three-day Pride celebration will be held in Ogunquit. The weekend Pride celebration kicks off with a Pride Picnic at The Front Porch and a Kick-Off Party at the West Meadow Pub on Friday evening with live music and Pride themed cocktails.

"The main event is a Saturday flag raising in Veteran’s Park, followed by a 'Pride in the Park' event featuring food trucks, live entertainment and LGBTQ+ vendors promoting items, programs and services.

"Folks in Lewiston and Auburn kicked off Pride Month on Sunday with the Great Falls Pride march. The organizers of the event say it’s so valuable to recognize this month.

" 'Given politics and the state of the world right now there is a lot of rhetoric and a lot of strong feelings against our community right now, so I think it’s good to have a space to come together to celebrate and it’s wonderful to see allies together, people show up for us,' said Alex Pine, a #GreatFallsPride organizer.

" '#Queer, #TransPeople, come from all walks of life. We come from all creeds and colors, and it's good for us to come together and see that for each other,' said Beatrice Roseland, who attended the Great Falls Pride march."

Source:
https://wgme.com/news/local/pride-month-kicks-off-in-maine-with-celebrations-and-resources-for-lgbtq-community-equality-maine-transgender-trans-gay-portland-ogunquit-lewiston-auburn-parade

#MainePride #MainePrideEvents
#GBLTQRights #ProtectTransYouth #MaineResists #MaineEvents #TransRightsAreHumanRights

#GreatFalls #PrideMarch unites #AuburnME and #LewistonME in community celebration  🏳️‍🌈

by Allyson Lapierre, WGME
Sun, June 1st 2025

LEWISTON, Maine (WGME) -- "A march for Pride.

"#GreatFallsPride kicked off #PrideMonth, marching from Auburn to Lewiston.

"Advocates marched, chanted, and waved flags from Auburn's Festival Plaza across the bridge into Lewiston's Simard Payne Park.

" 'Together, we are strong together, we are here together. We can make it through all of this, and it's only together that we will continue [to] succeed. Continue to thrive and continue to survive,' Beatrice Roseland, a Pride advocate, said.

"Chair of Great Falls Pride Alex Pine says the group has celebrated Pride Month every year for over a decade, and this year, they are keeping the tradition going.

" 'In modern life, I think it's so easy to be separate. We have social media. We're all online, we're busy, we're doing our thing, so we don’t often get a chance to all come together in this way, so physical coming together is so important for connection, friendships, community for love,' Pine said.

"The event continued in the park where around 50 local venders set up shop, offering a range of options from handmade jewelry, food, art, and more.

" 'It's really important for us to have this space to come together, to celebrate, but it also feels wonderful to see allies here and see the community show up for us,' Pine went on.

"Support groups also gathered to bring #LGBTQ+ community members together.

" '#Queer, #TransPeople, come from all walks of life, we come from all creeds and colors, and it's good for us to come together and see that for each other,' Roseland said.

"The volunteer-led group is hosting a number of events all week to celebrate the start of Pride Month.

" 'We have made it that week-long of things where we get to really introduce people to different ways to be in this community and be part of it, whether you like biking, or I feel like telling stories, it's all important things that people get to be a part of,' Tyler Pulk, the future chair of Great Falls Pride, said.

"Here are a list of events hosted by Great Falls Pride:

June 1:
- Pride March & Festival (10 AM)
- Afterparty at Olive Pit Brewing (6 PM)

June 2:
- Board Game Night at Forage Market (5 PM)

June 3:
- Pride Bike Ride with Rainbow Bikes (5:30 PM meet, 6 PM ride)

June 4:
- Printmaking & Art at Ellard Studios (5 PM)

June 5:
- Stories at the Corner with L/A Arts (7 PM)

June 6:
- LGBTQ Wine Tasting at The Vault (5 PM)
- Painting Positivity at Maine Family Planning (6 PM)

June 7:
- Pride Prom at #LewistonPublicLibrary (All Ages 5–7 PM, Adults 8–10 PM)"

Source:
https://wgme.com/news/local/great-falls-pride-march-unites-auburn-and-lewiston-in-community-celebration#

#MainePride #MainePrideEvents #GBLTQRights #TransRightsAreHumanRights