Pride Day returns June 13, 'brighter than ever'

MIDDLEBORO -- Pride Day is returning to Middleboro June 13 after a three-year absence.

“We’re back and brighter than ever,’’ said Alex Cook, an organizer of the event along with Chloe Tubman and Karen Cook.

The June date coincides with Pride Month.

The event, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Town Hall lawn, will feature food trucks, musicians, vendors and a chance for the community to get together and celebrate, Cook, who uses they/them pronouns, said.

The day’s festivities are open to the LGBTQ+  community and beyond, they said.

“We are all here under the same rainbow,’’ Cook noted. “Our allies are just as important. Our allies are our families and our friends.’’

“The queer community in Middleboro is here and it’s thriving and it will not go away,’’ they said. “The community is real and will not be bullied into a corner.’’

Cook, who ran for Middleboro School Committee, said planning the event continues their effort to “give back’’ to the community.

Pride Days are not uncommon in larger communities, they said, but smaller, locally-based events are “so important.''

“Not everybody can make it to Boston,’’ they noted. “It’s easier to walk to Town Hall.’’

Growing up as a queer kid in Middleboro, “you can feel unheard,’’ they said.

As a trans individual,, “I get a lot of hate just for who I am.’’ But “Middleboro can rise above the bigotry.’’

They hope the event will make those in the LGBTQ+   community, particularly young people, feel welcome and loved.

Cook wants the day to reinforce a message. “You are here and wanted and loved as much as anybody else.’’

They also noted that while people “may think they don’t know any gay people, they absolutely do.’’

Pride Day is truly a celebration of community, they said.

“All are welcome,’’ they said. “Please come out and have a fun and wonderful and colorful day.’’