BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Scores of rainbow-draped revelers filled the Sun Inn courtyard Sunday for Pride Party Palooza, celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Along with food offerings and a pair of bars, the Main Street event featured appearances by DJ Brad Scott and drag artists Carol Ann Carol Ann and Sharon Ann Husbands.
Through raffles, a dunk tank, and other fundraisers, the party benefits Silk Lehigh Valley, a program of the nonprofit Valley Youth House that offers support services for LGBTQ+ youth.
Pride Party Palooza began last year when organizer Scottie Prime and his coworker at the Sun Inn Tavern, events manager Brianna Lawrence, noticed a dearth of Pride celebrations in historic Bethlehem, they said.
“SteelStacks does their Pride stuff, Greenway does their Pride stuff, and we’re like, ‘Why doesn’t Downtown Bethlehem do anything?’” said Lawrence. “So we felt we needed to bring some celebration down here.”
Compared to last year, Sunday’s event was much warmer, coming amid a heat wave that pushed heat indexes near triple digits.
It was also much larger, having grown from the tavern’s small portion of the courtyard to fill the entire space.
“It was kind of just a small idea. Last year, we were expecting maybe about 50 people to show up,” said Lawrence, adding between 300 and 400 eventually did. “Honestly, the game plan was just to make it bigger and better this year.”
While it would be hard to estimate Sunday’s turnout, she said, roughly 800 people responded to a Facebook listing for the event by marking themselves interested.
Within minutes of the party’s 2 p.m. start, the Sun Inn courtyard was already filling up with celebrants.
For many, while the vendors and drinks didn’t hurt, the party’s real draw was a chance to feel the embrace of the Valley’s LGBT+ community, they said.
“It’s great to be able to see our community and know that we’re supported,” said Justin Rice, of Easton.
“I think it's important just to be out, be visible, have our allies also be out,” said Easton resident Doug Adams. “Even in these times when there's so much negativity being said about the community, this is an event that shows positivity and what community really means.”
"As a member of the community, I like a gathering where we all can feel safe and have fun and just, like, be."Davie Callaway, Bethlehem resident.
“Honestly, there's not a lot of spaces where I feel comfortable just going and being myself, as someone who's non-binary,” said Bethlehem resident Shy Ortiz. “Being in queer spaces is just a lot more refreshing for me.”
“As a member of the community, I like a gathering where we all can feel safe and have fun and just, like, be,” said Davie Callaway, of Bethlehem.
“I've grown up in this area and I didn't know that there were quite as many queer people in the area that there turned out to be. So it's always nice to see maybe new faces, maybe familiar faces.”
Said Lawrence: “We just think getting a safe and fun environment for everyone to come out and be themselves is super important.
“I think creating the environment where everyone's free to be them and not feel like they need a hide or anything like that – that’s all we’re trying to do.”
