GREENFIELD — The Franklin County Pride Parade and Festival is returning to the city for its eighth year on Saturday, June 15, and according to Parade Coordinator Jake Krain, it’s shaping up to be the organization’s most well-attended celebration to date.

With 70 groups participating in the parade, 14 of which will be school groups, Krain estimated that 1,000 to 1,200 people will march from Greenfield Middle School starting at noon to Energy Park, where there will be a festival and block party that will continue until 4 p.m. Krain added that this would be the largest number of marchers the parade has ever seen.

“We have closed off all of Miles Street and Energy Park, so it will have a real block party feel to it, with more room for people to celebrate and more room for vendors,” Krain said. “We’re really just continuing to expand and grow in a really positive way.”

This year’s parade and festival will feature performances from the headlining Brattleboro, Vermont-based punk band Thus Love, along with Crys Matthews, Pamela Means, Carrie Ferguson, The B-52.0s, Mz. October/Maylay, and other local artists.

Additionally, Sen. Jo Comerford, Rep. Natalie Blais, Rep. Susannah Whipps, Mayor Ginny Desorgher and At-Large City Councilor Penny Ricketts will be in attendance.

The festival’s theme is “Be Seen. Be Heard,” a message, Krain said, citing Florida’s 2022 “Don’t Say Gay” bill and anti-trans sentiment, that has taken on an added level of importance. Krain hopes the event will be a display of acceptance for queer youth who might feel ostracized because of their sexualities.

“For us, it is so important to show up and make sure that our voices, and more importantly, our votes are counted and heard. This year, we’ve seen such an incredible amount of anti-trans legislation across the country, and it has a real impact,” Krain said. “It’s important to stand up against those things and make it known that we’re not going anywhere. ... It’s important to show our youth that the future is really bright for them and things continue to get better.”

Franklin County Pride President Heather Mahoney echoed Krain’s marks, reflecting on how much the parade has grown since its inception in 2016 as a sign of progress for the queer community.

“Our first Pride in 2016 was walking down the sidewalk because we didn’t have the permits to do the parade, and now we’ll have thousands of people marching and closing down Miles Street and Energy Park to do the festival, so I think that speaks volumes to what has changed in our town during that time,” Mahoney said.

Other Pride events

Franklin County Pride held a Pride flag raising on the Greenfield Common on June 1. Other organizations are finding ways to celebrate Pride Month as well. On Tuesday, the Greenfield Public Library held a Pride gear workshop, in which participants crafted flags, bracelets and buttons that they can wear and hand out at the parade. Teens can also make Pride buttons at the library on Fridays, June 7 and June 14, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

The Greenfield Public Library will also set up a pop-up library at Energy Park from 12:30 to 4 p.m. during the June 15 festival, where it will showcase its summer programs and LGBTQ books. This will come after a workshop for making rainbow streamers that will be held earlier that morning at the library from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The streamer-making session is intended for children ages 3 to 12 and their caregivers.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com.