CAZENOVIA, N.Y. (NCC News) – Cazenovia was painted with all colors of the rainbow as the community went out to showed its pride on Saturday.
Lydia Dolch was a first-time attendee to Cazenovia’s Pride Festival and said she was surprised at just how big the event was, but appreciates the opportunity it gave them to interact with others in the queer community.
“It’s just been really great to collaborate with other folks who support people with all different identities,” Dolch said. “It’s also been really fun to be here with my partner’s kids and see them really enjoying interacting with other queer families and just being around really wonderful, inclusive people.”
It was Cazenovia’s fourth year holding the Pride Festival. The event had gotten so popular that it had outgrown its original location and moved to the Lorenzo Historic Site in order to fit the hundreds of attendees and dozens of vendors, food trucks and community resources.
Cazenovia Pride Volunteer Maria Henneberg has been volunteering with the event since it’s second year. She said watching how the Pride Festival grows and meeting all the people who attend is one of her favorite things about the event.
“It’s a close knit community to begin with,” said Henneberg. “And seeing so many people that I know and some that I don’t know. I get to meet new people and know that they’re from here and they live here, or that they’ve traveled here just because of this event. It just goes to show that no matter how small a community is, it can grow and expand and I love that. Love is at the center of that.”
But Pride is more than parades and festivals.
This year, Cazenovia began Pride weekend with a vigil on Friday to remember those in the queer community who had lost their lives to hate crimes or suicide.
“It’s important to raise awareness,” said Cazenovia Pride Committee Member Meg Tobin. “There’s nothing inherent about LGBTQ people that would lead them to take their lives, but they’re more at risk because there’s such a lack of understanding and such hatred and lack of affirmation for people in this particular group.”
According to The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, “39% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year including almost half of transgender and nonbinary young people (46%) and 3 in 10 cisgender young people (30%).” The survey also found that “12% of LGBTQ+ young people attempted suicide in the past year including 14% of transgender and nonbinary young people and 7% of cisgender young people.”
But Tobin said Friday’s vigil had some lighter moments as well and emphasized how important these Pride celebrations are.
“We did have a lot of laughter as well,” said Tobin. “It’s important to bring the light in, even in the darkness. That’s what this is all about. This is bringing light into the darkness. And we feel like we opened it up in that way. And we are moving into more light as the celebration continues.”
