WORCESTER—Despite ominous skies and fierce weather warnings, the 2025 Worcester Pride Festival managed to exceed expectations, as organizers declared it to be Worcester’s largest Pride yet.
More than 250 vendors lined the streets around Worcester Common, while hundreds marched from Rockland Trust Plaza on Green Street to the festival downtown. Festival Director Arianna DelloStritto estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people were in attendance when the event was hastily forced to pack up due to changing weather conditions. Attendance had been projected at 25,000, which was more than double last year’s turnout, before the event was interrupted by an emergency weather alert.
The festival had only been underway for about 90 minutes when the city issued a shelter-in-place order in response to a severe thunderstorm warning. Vendors were forced to pack up their tents, while attendees sought cover in nearby buildings. Many relocated to the Worcester Public Library, where performers provided alternate entertainment through songs and book readings for children.
“It looked like there were more people here today than at any other time, and then the rain came,” said festival attendee Judith Hanlon, pastor of Hadwen Park Community Church. “It was a shame because even though the rain might have taken our fun away, we’re still here. We’re still proud, and we’re still going to keep going.”
Planned speakers, unable to deliver their remarks due to the weather, voiced similar sentiments afterward. “In Worcester, we celebrate pride all year, but we’re still disappointed that today’s festival was disrupted by the storm,” State Senator Robyn Kennedy told The Worcester Guardian, “but we know the LGBTQIA+ community will always find a way to dance in the storm. This is a resilient community, and we’ll continue to uplift the queer joy and love of our people.”
This year’s Pride Festival carried special significance for Worcester’s LGBTQ+ community, marking the 50th anniversary of the city’s first attempt at a Pride march.
In June 1975, local activists organized Worcester’s first Pride parade in the wake of failed attempts to pass an ordinance banning employment discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in city jobs. Determined not to live in the shadows, activists marched anyway. Residents had been told a parade would occur, but organizers kept its purpose secret.
When the crowd saw around 100 marchers carrying a banner reading: “Gay Pride Week. We are the people our parents taught us to hate. We are your children,” their curiosity turned to violence. The marchers were pelted with bottles and rocks while being heckled by the crowd. At least one person required medical attention for their injuries according to a Worcester Magazine article written about the event at the time. The following year, marchers again tried to gather, only to be met by a mob armed with hockey sticks who smashed their signs and banners.
“We’re a very different community, and a very different city, than we were 50 years ago and that’s a good thing,” Congressman Jim McGovern told the Worcester Guardian while reflecting on the city’s first Pride March. “As I was driving to this event, I was thinking about how the first Pride wasn’t a celebration; it was a protest, coming a year after the Stonewall uprising. Over the years, Pride has become more celebratory because progress has been made and laws to protect the LGBTQ community have been passed, marriage equality has become a reality. But there’s still more progress we need to make.”
McGovern had been scheduled to speak at Saturday’s parade but was unable to because of the storm.
“Unfortunately, we’re now moving backwards,” hes said. “One of the Trump administration’s first executive orders aims to take away protections for the LGBTQ community and cut them out of the workforce. He has filled his cabinet with bigots who scapegoat the trans community, pushing a false narrative that is, quite frankly, creating fear. This is a time for resistance. We have to fight harder and be more creative, because if we don’t, they’re going to win and turn the clock back.”
McGovern wasn’t the only planned speaker to tie the local festival into a larger political struggle around current events. Kennedy similarly expressed concern over reports that Trump administration officials were considering banning transgender individuals from owning firearms, framing it as another example of rights under threat.
Local issues also served as a focal point of tension between city officials and Pride organizers in the days and weeks before the festival. Pride Worcester had previously declined to participate in the city’s annual Pride flag-raising, citing what they described as “a series of missteps and inappropriate responses from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — including the raising of an incorrect flag last year.”
Organizers also criticized a February city council vote to create a $500,000 Trans Resilience Fund, claiming that no progress had been made in its implementation. In addition, a statement released by Pride Worcester before the festival accused city officials of threatening to deny future permits if organizers did not pay a last-minute $5,000 fee. City Manager Eric D. Batista later waived the fee after speaking with the third-party vendor who had requested it.
Despite the disruptions and disputes, event organizers expressed satisfaction with the turnout and optimism for the future. “We were really happy and excited about the turnout. It’s unfortunate that we had to close because of the rain, but we had a great time, and we hope the people who attended did too,” said DelloStritto. “The march was beautiful, and again, it’s unfortunate that we had to close, but we had to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Organizers indicated they remain optimistic about the future of Pride in Worcester, stating that they expect next year’s festival to be even larger and more bombastic than this one.
Sam Bishop is a freelance writer and photojournalist licensed through the National Press Photographers Association. Based in New England, his photo and video work regularly appear on cable television stations throughout the Boston metro area. His writing is primarily published in various local and national news outlets. Sam Bishop can be reached at: 3bcontact@protonmail.com
