Something for nearly everyone at Capital City Pride this Saturday

"You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s real Jewish Rye” was the ad headline that made a local bread famous across New York City starting in 1961.

The same message, slightly tweaked, might be used to welcome festival go-ers this Saturday, June 4: You don’t have to be Lesbian (or Gay, Bi-sexual, Transexual, Queer, Intersex or Asexual) to love the Capital City Pride Festival.

Officially, the event starts at 11:30 a.m., and the stage entertainment is scheduled from then until 6:30 p.m. Music, poetry, cheer, and, of course, drag performances are scheduled every 15 minutes, so if one show isn’t to your liking, the next one might be.  (See 19 mini posters above this story.)

The festival will include some 30 booths from local artists and LGBTQIA+-friendly organizations (come meet volunteers and writers for The JOLT all day).  

Alcohol-free event

New this year is that Pride is an alcohol-free event; this has cost the organization in terms of sponsorship funds, some of which came from “alcohol money” in previous years. “We have mocktails instead of cocktails. And we really want to emphasize that we're trying to build our culture. According to Natalie Coblentz, president of Capital City Pride, we're not trying to tear it down with alcohol or drugs or anything like that." They added, “We're trying to break that cycle of corporations trying to take advantage of us and you know, pouring alcohol down our throats.”

So while there’s no set admission fee to get into the event, the organizers will be accepting donations to cover the cost to produce the event.

BYOB – bring your own blanket

Bring your own blanket, or folding chair if you want to hang out on the grass to watch the performances or drink your mocktails.

 Two grassy knolls

There are two grass fields at Port Plaza. One will be the Kids’ Zone, recognizable by the large rainbow parachute kids and adults can play with.

 The Zen Den

The other grassy knoll will feature The Zen Den, “a place of healing.”  It will be a place “for people … to bring memories of those that have passed these past couple of years, whether it was from COVID or from hate crimes or just ...of natural causes," Coblentz said. A local monk, Anna Rose Pike, will be present for those seeking guidance, or just company, for their spiritual healing.