Greensburg’s 1st in-person Pride Celebration planned this weekend
After shifting Greensburg’s 2020 Pride event online because of the coronavirus pandemic, Westmoreland County organizations expect a more impactful experience this year.
This weekend’s in-person event will be “much more meaningful,” said James Galik, president of the Westmoreland LGBTQ Interfaith Network.
The sold-out Greensburg Pride Celebration will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Sponsored by the FirstEnergy Foundation, the event was planned by the museum, the Interfaith Network and PFLAG Greensburg — a branch of the national organization Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
The Westmoreland LGBTQ Interfaith Network advocates for the spiritual health and acceptance of LGBTQ individuals and their supporters, while PFLAG seeks to unite families, friends and allies to the LGBTQ community.
The event will be hosted by drag queens Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is expected to attend. Additionally, dance pop artist Bryce Bowen will perform.
Organizations such as the Blackburn Center, Sisters Pittsburgh, Westmoreland Community Action, Mental Health America of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Big Brothers Big Sisters will set up information tables.
Galik said the event will take place mostly outside, but there will be exhibits inside the museum.
Jean Slusser, president of PFLAG Greensburg, said the event will be kept on a small scale this year, but she believes it will develop moving forward. She added the anticipated attendance for the “actual first Greensburg Pride Celebration” is much higher than that of the 2020 virtual event.
Slusser also hopes this event leads to a Greensburg Pride parade in the future.
Galik said he thinks the Greensburg Pride Celebration will allow LGBTQ individuals to feel welcome in their hometown.
“Our hope is that all of the members of the LGBTQ community would feel that they have a home in Greensburg and Westmoreland County — people that love them and care about them and support them and accept them just for who they are,” Galik said.
Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com.
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