Bellows Falls Pride 2024
more fall events updating soon!
Sacred Cloth Unfurled for Coming Out Day
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Movie Night!
Coming of Age with Grace and Grit
Bellows Falls Pride
"The Gay Experiment in rural Vermont"
"enjoy what you are!"
Since the 1970s Bellows Falls has been a home for the LGBTQIA+ community, with the historic Andrews Inn, the first Gay bar in the state of Vermont. A lot has changed since than, but remains the same is Pride in the area and Pride in the people living here. Join us for community activities throughout the year!
Pride Banner hangs across the Square June 2023
Postcards to Swing States
Want to make your voice heard in this year's Presidential election? Participate in the Postcards To Swing States campaign on Wednesday, October 9 in Bellows Falls! Postcards to Swing States says, writing postcards is the most effective way to help get people to the polls.
Bellows Falls Pride will be in the Ciao Popolo lounge from 11am-4pm to provide cards that will be mailed to Ohio residents, as well as refreshments and conversation.
In this critical election year, if you don't have time to knock on doors or make phone calls, this is a very easy way to make a difference. Come early at 2pm when the bar opens for your favorite beverage while you work, or arrive at 4pm for an early meal with Dinner & a Movie! Join us!
October 9th
11 am - 4 pm
Ciao Popolo
36 The Square
Bellows Falls
Sacred Cloth Unfurled for
National Coming Out Day
October 9th
10 am
The Square
Be here for historic 14'x25' section of the Sea-to-Sea Rainbow Flag
It is the responsibility of Pride organizations everywhere to make National Coming Out Day in 2024 a rallying cry for equality, safety and freedom. On Wednesday, October 9 at 10am, Bellows Falls Pride will unfurl the historic 14’ x 25’ Sacred Cloth, aka Section 93, of the original Key West Sea-to-Sea Rainbow Flag from the top of the Windham Hotel to the street, formerly the site of the iconic Andrews Inn (1973-1984) in downtown Bellows Falls, Vermont. The Inn offered bars, discos and lodging, a safe place for rural and urban LGBTQ people from up and down the East Coast to travel by train and gather in the heart of downtown Bellows Falls, Vermont. The building now houses the restaurant, Ciao Popolo. “The flag, known as Section 93, measures 14 by 25 feet, is one section of the historic Rainbow25 flag sewn together by Gilbert Baker in Key West, Fla., in 2003 to create a 1.25-mile-long flag in the original eight colors (versus the six colors that became more common). That flag marked the 25th anniversary of the 1978 flag originally created by Baker. The Sea-to-Sea Flag was later cut into sections, and Section 93 is preserved as the Sacred Cloth. It has traveled the globe to be displayed at celebrations, occasions of mourning, and historic moments. Section 93 was displayed in downtown Orlando in June 2016 following the deadly Pulse nightclub shootings and has returned to Orlando each year on the anniversary of the tragedy.” National Coming Out Day brings awareness for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The annual remembrance, which officially takes place on October 11, encourages gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community to “come out of the closet,” which is a metaphor the community has used to mean recognizing and revealing one’s authentic self. Mark Ebenhoch of Key West and Brattleboro manages stewardship of the Sacred Cloth throughout the country and is bringing it to Bellows Falls. Most recently CNN created a display in Atlanta. Attendees and residents are invited to visit the Ciao Popolo lounge from 11am-4pm to participate in the nationwide “Postcards to Swing States” project. The goal of Bellows Falls Pride is to send 500 completed postcards to Ohio residents ahead of the 2024 Presidential election, which is considered a life-or-death moment for the LGBTQ+ community. The national project aims to send 25 million postcards to 11 swing states. Coffee and refreshments will be available during this time. Keller Williams Metro Keene Realty and M&T Bank Bellows Falls are sponsors of this event. Find Bellows Falls Pride on Facebook, Instagram on www.bellowsfallspride.com. https://www.facebook.com/BruceMurphyRealtor/
History of the Sacred Cloth: World’s Longest Rainbow Flag Brought Recognition of Key West’s Diversity During Key West Pride in 2003, a 1.25-mile-long rainbow flag sewn by Gilbert Baker, the creator of the original rainbow flag, was unfurled to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the banner’s debut. Supported by approximately 2,000 volunteers of widely varying ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations, the world’s longest rainbow flag was carried the entire length of Key West’s Duval Street from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean in a sea-to-sea demonstration of openness and pride. As well as honoring the rainbow flag’s birth, the Key West flag re-created Baker’s original eight-color design — adding pink and turquoise to the now-traditional red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet. Baker, who died in March 2017, spent three months in Key West in 2003 sewing about 17,600 linear yards of fabric into the rainbow flag that weighed more than 3 tons. He and the project were the subjects of “Rainbow Pride,” a Public Broadcasting Service documentary. The idea of displaying a sea-to-sea rainbow flag on Duval Street was hatched when the late Key West businessman Gregg McGrady envisioned the display as part of the community’s annual pride celebration. It came to fruition when Key West Pride 2003 co-chairs Heather Carruthers and Tom Wheaton met Baker by chance in San Francisco. Baker, whose friends called him “the gay Betsy Ross,” created the original flag in 1978 as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride in response to anti-gay activities. Subsequently, he watched it grow from a symbol of gay pride into a symbol of pride for all people. “The rainbow flag is loved and cherished all over the world,” Baker said in 2003. “It represents an idea of equality and justice for everyone.” The Key West flag has had a life of its own, with sections of the historic banner displayed at global events and LGBTQ festivities around the world — including the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and Australia’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. They also have been shown internationally in Sweden, Norway, Germany and England; and domestically in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Atlanta. Baker’s rainbow flag also brought international acclaim to Key West’s 14-block Duval Street, a hub for the island’s LGBTQ entertainment venues. Visitors can walk easily up Duval from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, imagining the day when the Key West flag was unfurled — and its ends were dipped simultaneously into the two bodies of water in a stirring representation of pride. Key West visitor information: fla-keys.com/gay, fla-keys.com/keywest or 1-800-LAST-KEY Gay Key West Visitor Center: gaykeywestfl.com, 305-294-4603 or 1-800-535-7797
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - MOVIE NIGHT
Wednesday October 9th
Time: 7 pm
Price: $6.00
The Opera House
7 the Square
Bellows Falls
Sponsored by Bellows Falls Pride
Tweed Ride and Tea Party
Saturday
October 12th
11 am meet up
11:30 am roll out
Flat Iron co-op
51 the Square
Bellows Falls
Join us for a casual bike ride around Bellows Falls followed by tea and snacks at the Flat Iron co-op.
A tweed ride is a causal slow communal ride where bike riders dress in vintage attire. But we’re not here to be be sticklers on fashion, so when we say dress to impress, we will let you decide what that means!
All styles are welcome.
All families are welcome. Helmets encouraged.
Awards will be presented for the best attire and for the most fabulously decorated bike.
Tea provided, and snacks and other drinks available for purchase at the Flat Iron.
(those not riding are very welcome us for tea and community!)