Wilmington Celebrates Pride Month in June
City scores the highest in Delaware on promoting equality and being a welcoming City for the LGBTQ community
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and Acting Director of Cultural Affairs Tina Betz announced today the City of Wilmington’s official celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month during the month of June. The City will host a series of Pride-related events throughout the month.
“Wilmington’s LGBTQ community is active and engaged,” said Mayor Purzycki. “The City is proud to recognize our friends, families, and neighbors within this diverse group of citizens. June will be a celebration of Pride in Wilmington. Please enjoy the events that have been scheduled knowing that Wilmington is a welcoming City that believes in respect and equality for all people.”
The National Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) latest Municipal Equality Index (MEI) of more than 500 municipalities across all 50 states gave Wilmington a score of 86 out of 100 – the highest among eight cities and towns indexed in Delaware. Rehoboth Beach came in second with a score of 62 out of 100. The index rates municipalities on 44 criteria in five key areas: non-discrimination laws, municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and support for equality. The City of Wilmington had previously scored only in the high 50s. More information about the Municipal Equality Index can be found here https://www.hrc.org/mei.
Joe Sielski, creator and organizer of Our Night Out, a popular monthly happy hour for the local LGBTQ community, thanked Mayor Purzycki for recognizing Pride Month and for his willingness to reach out to LGBTQ residents. “We represent more than 10 percent of the population and have organized one of the most impressive monthly social gatherings in the city,” said Sielski. “We live in the city. We work in the city. We enjoy the city. We are Wilmington, too.” Our Night Out was started in 2010 and is held at various venues around Wilmington on the third Thursday of each month. For details about June’s Our Night Out event, visit bit.ly/OurNightOutWilmington.
City-sponsored Pride Month events include:
- A special one-night-only live staging of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at The Queen to benefit the Light Up The Queen Foundation’s Arts Education Program. This exclusive performance, on Friday, June 8 at 8 p.m., is made possible through a partnership with the Milburn Stone Theatre. Tickets are available at LightUpTheQueen.org/Hedwig.
- Theatre N at Nemours, 1007 North Orange Street, will hold an LGBTQ Film Festival in June featuring the following films: Thursday, June 7, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (1994); Wednesday, June 13, Call Me By Your Name (2017); Thursday, June 21, The Kids Are All Right(2010) and Thursday, June 28, Moonlight (2015). The Theatre N film schedule is subject to change due to distribution availability; please visit TheatreN.org for a complete list of films, dates, and times.
- The Pride Month celebration will continue on June 28 with “Pride Night with the Wilmington Blue Rocks,” featuring a Dogfish Happy Hour from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the First Base Picnic Area as the Blue Rocks take on the Lynchburg Hillcats. The game begins at 6:35 p.m.
- Mayor Purzycki is also encouraging city businesses to show their support for the LGBTQ community by displaying a small pride flag decal in the shape of the State of Delaware. The decals will be available on June 1 and are FREE to participating businesses. The Pride decals were created in partnership with Spaceboy Clothing on Market Street. They can be obtained at the following locations in Wilmington:
- ¨New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (920 Justison St., Wilmington, DE 19801) or email Jaimie Watts at [email protected]
- ¨Downtown Visions (409 N Orange St, Wilmington, 19801)
- ¨Starbucks in the MKT Building (629 N Market St, Wilmington, 19801)
- ¨The Mill (1007 N Orange St – 4th Floor, Wilmington, 19801)
- ¨Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (100 W 10th St #20, Wilmington, 19801)
- ¨Westside Grows Together at the West End Neighborhood House (710 N. Lincoln St. Wilmington, 19805)
- ¨Oddity Bar (500 Greenhill Avenue, Wilmington 19805)
- ¨Mayor’s Office at 302.576.2100 or email [email protected]
For more information regarding Pride Month events visit the City of Wilmington’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/WilmingtonDEgov.