Orange Street Beams With Pride

In a flurry of Pride flags, handmade crafts, and pedestrians-turned-dancers that filled the end of Orange Street in the Ninth Square, Luis Rios caught a glimpse of Tia Waters and had to say hello.

“Excuse me, is your name Bubbles?” he asked. ​“You’re a legend.”

Rios, a therapist at Fair Haven Community Health Care specializing in transgender-friendly care, knew Waters, AKA Bubblicious or Bubbles, as a local celebrity of sorts: a foundational figure of New Haven’s drag community who often uses her art to call for sorely-needed change.

Within minutes of meeting at the New Haven Pride Center’s annual Pride block party on Sunday, Rios and Bubbles were exchanging contact information, dreaming up community partnerships, and hugging as new friends.

Bubbles spent the majority of the block party recruiting for Rainbow Elders, a growing community of LGBTQIA+ seniors based out of the New Haven Pride Center. She sees Rainbow Elders as a place to ​“break bread” and ​“meet new people” specifically geared toward older queer people. She hopes to build more cross-generational relationships, and to do more outreach to community members who have trouble leaving their homes.

The sight of hundreds of people, young and old, gathering along the painted rainbow stripes at Orange and Crown Streets was not one that Bubbles took for granted. 

Now in her fifties, she remembers a time when ​“wearing these clothes would get you beat up,” when a block party bringing young kids and seniors alike to celebrate pride would not have existed. ​“People gave blood and bones for you to do this.”

"Whenever We Get Hate, Show Up Stronger"

Sunday’s six-hour Pride celebration reflected the dreams of queer activists from generations past — but also the defiance of present-day threats and bigotry that had tried to derail the event.

The Pride Center had rescheduled the block party twice due to rainy weather. On the late September Saturday originally designated for the event, someone sent in a bomb threat targeting the Pride Center. No explosive devices were actually found onsite, and though staff were rattled, they continued to prepare for the rescheduled block party.

“They tried to shut us down,” said Laura Boccadoro, the Pride Center’s communications director and the lead organizer of the block party. To other queer New Haveners, they said, ​“You are visible. You are heard. Pride is all over New Haven. The Pride Center is not going anywhere, and we celebrate our community.”

“It’s important whenever we get hate to show up stronger,” said Juancarlos Soto, the Pride Center’s director. ​“This is our big ​‘coming out.’ ”

The organization is working on plans to move out of its current basement offices to the former home of Artspace at 50 Orange Street, a now-empty storefront right where Sunday’s block party took place. To Soto, this plan is part of ​“showing up stronger,” with hope of a front-facing glass window to show off the organization’s pride. ​“We believe in our hearts we’ll make it happen and we hope to make an announcement soon,” said Soto.

One lone protester came to Sunday’s block party to yell homophobic messages to the crowd.

Anika Stewart, who was selling plants at the Crown Street end of the block as the co-founder of Your Queer Plant Shop, recalled that when the protester approached her vicinity, ​“the community came around me” and got him to back off. She said she felt support from fellow vendors and partygoers: ​“We just want to be at peace and happy.”

"Nurturing" Pride

To Stewart, tending to plants — and spreading them around town — is an expression of a ​“nurturing” facet of queer pride and love.

“I think a lot of people in the queer community have anxiety and mental illness,” added George Gross, who’s both a life partner and business partner to Stewart. Caring for plants is ​“a way to be mindful,” they said.

A similar spirit of gentleness and care united community builders like Rainbow Elders, healthcare providers like A Place to Nourish Your Health and Anchor Health, and many of the queer artists present — including a strong showing among crocheters.

Tiffany (who runs Yarnshaper) and Scotland Fitch (who runs Heart of a Hungry Hermit) were two of the crochet vendors this year. They each began selling their work for the first time at a previous year’s New Haven Pride festival. 

“We like the people who are here,” said Fitch.

“I feel seen. It’s a great feeling to be amongst other queer vendors,” said Tiffany.

Seventeen-year-old Jamie, too, felt uniquely comfortable expressing themselves at Pride. Hailing from Bethany, they wore a Pride-themed outfit from head to toe, including a non-binary flag draped in the form of a cape. 

“It feels fun. It’s nice to meet people,” they said. ​“It’s just easier to talk to people. If this were some random event, I don’t think I would be as sociable.”

"My Daughter Just Came Out"

While some, like Jamie, drove in from out of town specifically for Pride, others had stumbled upon the event simply by walking outside their homes.

Nichelle Beverly, Jazel Brown, and Pamela Jackson all live in nearby apartment buildings. They soon found themselves dancing to Fleetwood Mac.

“My daughter just came out,” said Beverly. ​“I love this. This is beautiful.”

“Man, it’s wonderful,” said Jackson. She said she’d heard that the Pride Center is hoping to move into the empty storefront on the corner. ​“Please, I hope they do,” she said. ​“I would definitely be a volunteer for whatever. You guys need to have a voice. … I will support y’all in every way.”

It was Kia’s first Pride event, too. They had come with their partner Crow, a new intern at the Pride Center, and could scarcely contain their smile.

Their takeaway? ​“There’s a lot of cool gay people.”