After attending his first Pittsburgh Pride event in 2019, Stephen Elcock knew he wanted to bring the concept to his hometown of Scottdale.
This year, the 24-year-old decided to pursue this ambition upon encouragement from his friend, Mackenzie Eicher.
“Why do you have to go to Pittsburgh when there are people in the LGBTQ+ community living here in Scottdale?” said Eicher, 23, of Mt. Pleasant. “They should be represented, and they deserve to be celebrated, as well.”
Elcock said he posted about the idea on the Left Scottdale Alive Facebook page and decided to organize a pride event with Eicher after seeing all of the positive feedback on the post. Eicher said she roped in friend Heather Schafer to help plan the event.
The Scottdale Pride Picnic will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 27, at Scratch Living Roastery and Cafe, 143 Pittsburgh St. The picnic, which Elcock said is the first pride event to be held in Scottdale, will be opened by Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
The picnic also will feature a drag performance by the Pennsylvania Pride Pageantry, live music by local band Caught On Sight, food from Leo’s Pub and Grill in Mt. Pleasant, a cold brew coffee cart courtesy of Scratch Living, an LGBTQ education and advocacy speaker and games for children hosted by a local day care center.
Eicher said the three organizers initially expected a limited outcome for the picnic but have been pleasantly surprised by the community’s response. She said the picnic’s GoFundMe drive exceeded its $1,000 fundraising goal within 24 hours. In total, the organizers have raised $1,285.
All funds not used for the event will be donated to Proud Haven, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that supports homeless LGBTQ youth. Donations to Proud Haven will be accepted during the event, as well.
The organizers expect more than 100 people to attend, Eicher added.
Schafer, 27, of Philadelphia said the community’s support allowed the event to become something greater than what the organizers anticipated.
“We had so much outpouring and support from the community that this ended up growing into an entire festival,” Schafer said. “We were a little concerned about a community response, but it’s been overwhelmingly, incredibly positive.”
Elcock said they have received some negative feedback regarding the picnic, but it is not as prevalent as the positive comments.
“The good thing was that whenever somebody (left a negative comment), we never had to respond because the community jumped up and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to defend you,’” Elcock said.
Organizers hope the picnic fosters a greater acceptance and understanding of LGBTQ individuals within the Scottdale community. Schafer said she also hopes the event offers support for LGBTQ youth in the area.
“Keeping in touch with people who used to live here who weren’t out at the time, they talk about it almost being a traumatizing place to grow up,” Schafer said. “I don’t want any child or teenager to feel like they can’t show who they are or feel ashamed of who they are.”
Similarly, Elcock said he wants LGBTQ individuals to feel safe expressing themselves in Scottdale.
“I want to be able to walk into my town and feel like I can be myself without putting on a mask or hiding anything about me,” Elcock said. “I want this event to say, ‘We’re here, we’ll always be here, and our voices will be louder than ever before.’”
