Saratoga Pride 2022 Festival Photos
August 03, 2022
On Sunday, June 26th, several hundred people gathered on a warm and sunny day to celebrate Pride at High Rock Park in Saratoga Springs! There were fun activities for children and families, raffle prizes, incredible singers and a Pride Drag Show hosted by Saratoga Black Lives Matter. Here are some photos provided by The People’s Voice photographer, Adam Walker (original photos can be ordered here ).
Saratoga Pride Crosswalk - Ribbon Cutting!
June 4, 2021
On Thursday, June 3rd, over 200 people turned out to celebrate the new Pride crosswalk in Saratoga Springs. The Ribbon was officially cut by US Congressman Paul Tonko, Saratoga Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, Saratoga Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan, Saratoga County Supervisor Tara Gaston and Cindy Swadba, one of the founders of Saratoga Pride - along with a crowd of joyous community members cheering them on!
Photos courtesy of Blackburn Portrait Design Wedding and Portrait Photography
Why do we need PRIDE? Why do we still need to show our presence in the community 50 years after Stonewall?
Because…
Hatred and bigotry still exist.
There are people who still believe that being bisexual or homosexual is a sin.
There are children who don’t understand that having 2 mommies or 2 daddies is perfectly normal and healthy.
There are places where it is still unsafe to be queer.
I am proud and consider myself quite fortunate to live in Saratoga Springs, NY. I walk on Broadway in June and see Saratoga Pride Flags, and feel an immense sense of comfort and pride, and I feel welcome. I see signs in shop windows that say “All Are Welcome Here” and I am happy to know that I am included.
Then I receive a message like the one below (sent to the Saratoga Pride website), and I have to step back and remember that there remain a few in our community who wish I was not here. A few who wish, in fact, that I did not exist at all. I reprint this note in its entirety, but have intentionally removed the name of its author, not so much to protect her, but because I feel sorry for the her. To live with such hatred must be a heavy burden.
Message: I am highly offended that you have placed 'pride' flags at almost every light post in Saratoga!! Your militant lgbt agenda is completely out of touch with the vast majority of the residents of Saratoga Springs. You represent maybe 2% of the whole population but you insist on pushing your agenda at every corner of downtown Saratoga! The lgbt lifestyle is not something to push on others or to be proud of. In 21 large metro areas, 1 in 5 homosexual and bi-sexual men have HIV!! Telling young people to come out and embrace the homosexual lifestyle is like telling them to play Russian roulette!! It seems especially intentional that you display your lamp post flag directly in front of Spa Catholic High school!! Are you trying to recruit as many into your ranks as possible or do you just want to be as 'in your face' as you possibly can to a Catholic School. As a mother of school aged children, we will NOT be marching in the flag day parade this weekend no thanks to your obnoxious organization!! i am also complaining to the city and encouraging as many people as possible to do the same!!! I will boycott any shopping on Main Street and encourage as many others as possible to to the same. Stop destroying our culture by pushing unhealthy and potentially deadly sexual acts and behavior on everyone.
Today is the Saratoga Springs annual Flag Day parade sponsored by the Elks. I am proud that we will have a contingent from Saratoga Pride in the parade, as we have for the past couple years. While marching down Broadway holding rainbow flags, we receive cheers and thanks, and once again I feel welcomed and safe in my home town.
This why we still need to show PRIDE and march in parades, and why I hope you will join us today, whether you are gay, bi, queer, trans, or an ally, family member or friend of any sort, because “ALL ARE WELCOME HERE” – and I am proud of that.
- Steve Rosenblum
Saratoga Pride 2018!
Saratoga Pride’s fifth annual pride month festival was its biggest yet! Over a dozen local churches, non-profits, arts organizations and area businesses, joined over 200 local LGBTQ community members, allies, friends and family at High Rock Park in Saratoga Springs, in celebration of our diverse and welcoming community.
Host and MC, Cindy Swadba welcomed the group and we had a visit from Saratoga Springs Mayor, Meg Kelly, who said she wanted to see Saratoga have its own Pride Parade in the future. A representative from Governor Cuomo’s Office read a proclamation from the Governor, and NY State Assembly member Carrie Woerner was also represented. In a reflective moment, Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson Board Chair, Joyce Elliott and Moms Demand Action’s Tricia Pleu helped us to remember the victims of Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub shootings two years ago. Reverend Joe Cleveland presented Saratoga Pride with a special gift on behalf of members of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Saratoga Springs, and there was a surprise performance of “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story by Andy Pappas of Opera Saratoga!
After the Festival community members strolled down Broadway, stopping at Northshire Bookstore to admire its Pride Window displays and on to celebrate at Bailey’s and Ben & Jerry’s. A number of Pride members attended a special Pride Night event at the Orchard Project, featuring playwright and entertainer Charles Busch.
Other Pride Month Activities included a packed Open Mic Night at Caffe Lena, and a Garden and Ghost Tour at Yaddo which drew over 40 people!
Check out dozens more Pride Festival photos provided courtesy of Susan Blackburn, Blackburn Portrait Design.
Saratoga Pride 2017!
Pride Weekend was well represented by Saratoga Pride. Friday, June 9th was the Saratoga Pride Festival at High Rock Park, with over 150 LGBTQ, allies, family and friends enjoying the festivities!
June 10th, for the first time, Saratoga Pride was represented in the Saratoga Flag Day Parade!
Saratoga Pride marched on Sunday, June 11th in Albany's Capital Pride Parade.
Cindy Swadba interview on Channel 10 ABC concerning hate crimes in Saratoga
November 30, 2016
It’s not uncommon to see graffiti along spring run trail in Saratoga but this week a swastika and found and even more troubling, it was the second one found in just two weeks here in Saratoga Springs.
“We’re better than that and we know better than that and I’m fearful,” Cindy Swadba, volunteer at Saratoga Pride, said. Cindy was interviewed by Channel 10 ABC News in an episode that aired on Nov. 29. The episode discussed the rise in hate crimes since the recent presidential election, and featured Cindy Swadba and Mayor Yepsin. See the full article here.
Paul Tonko and local LGBT activists celebrate victories
U.S. Rep Paul Tonko and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan gathered with members of Albany's LGBT community Monday to discuss some recent victories as well as challenges that lay ahead. See full Times Union article for details
2015 Saratoga Pride Week photos
Check out our Pride photo gallery!
Saratogian: Pride in the Spa City
Our Pride celebration has made the Saratogian!
Here's an excerpt:
‟SARATOGA SPRINGS — The month of June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, and for the first time ever, Spa City and Saratoga Pride are commemorating it by flying rainbow flags up and down Broadway” – by Caitlin Morris
