LYNN — The city is celebrating Pride Month with a series of events in June, beginning with a downtown ceremony, where the Commuter Rail bridge will be lit up in rainbow colors, a symbol that has become synonymous with LGBTQ+ pride.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton will join Beyond Walls and several other community organizations Tuesday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. to listen to music and speeches before the lighting show at 8:15 p.m.
Guest performers include Boogie Bros, Cultura Latina Dance Academy and Jess Towers.
June was deemed Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which began after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, on June 28, 1969. The raid resulted in bar patrons, staff and neighborhood residents rioting outside on Christopher Street.
Many involved in the riots were part of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning) community. The rioters demanded that places be established for LGBTQ+ people, where members of the community could be open about their sexual orientation without fear.
On Wednesday, June 9 in Lynn, Lynn Museum/LynnArts’ Museum Enrichment Series for All (M.E.S.A.) program will feature an event hosted by Museum Program Coordinator Elena Hirshman-Seidel, who will speak with Robert Muise, a drag queen known as Tish, about the former Fran’s Place.
Fran’s Place, which many believe to be the first LGBTQ+ bar in Massachusetts, was a legendary community space, operating for decades before it closed its Washington Street doors in 2016.
Tish performed in drag at Fran’s Place before becoming the general manager. Tish managed the club for 35 years, staying on until its closure.
The event will be held via Zoom and registration is required at lynnmuseum.org. It will also be live streamed on the Lynn Museum/Lynn Arts Facebook page.
On Thursday, June 10, NAGLY (North Shore Alliance of GLBTQ Youth) is partnering with the children’s department of the Lynn Public Library for a storytime session at 5 p.m.
The free event will take place in the library’s courtyard and signup is not required.
A flag raising will take place on Tuesday, June 22 at 5 p.m. on the front steps of City Hall.
McGee and LGBTQ+ leaders will cap off the city’s celebration of Pride Month as they raise the Rainbow/Progress Pride flag, which will be followed by the lighting of rainbow lights in several downtown underpasses.
The flag raising is open to the public. It will be streamed live on the Queer Lynn Scene Facebook page, and a recording of the ceremony will be shown on Lynn Community Television.
After the ceremony, the public is invited to join NAGLY on a walk over to the library, where representatives from the group will display the meaning and symbolism behind the flags.
