10 Bergen Pride Events To Check Out In June
Happy Pride! Celebrate and show your support for the LGBTQ+ community at a slew of events happening this month around the county.
June is a month full of celebrations—school’s out, summer officially begins and it’s Pride Month, which honors the Gay Liberation Movement that happened at the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan.
And Bergen County is accepting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. In fact, New Bridge Medical Center recently opened the county’s first LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness Center, where community members can access medical care and testing in a judgment-free zone. There’s also BCLA, the Bergen County LGBTQ+ Alliance, which advocates for equality for the community, as well as the student-run organization, Bergen Pride, at Bergen Community College.
And as for Pride? Various towns in Bergen County will be hosting Pride events throughout the month of June. Here are a few to mark on your calendar:
- Throughout June, all day. Enjoy Sally’s Go-Go Juice, a specialty cocktail at Shannon Rose in Ramsey, all month long. A portion of proceeds will support the LGBTQ community and be donated to Pride Center of New Jersey.
- Thursdays in June from 2 to 5 p.m. Come fresh-faced to American Dream’s beauty demonstrations in The Garden at the East Rutherford mall, featuring mini-makeovers and makeup touchups from MAC and Sephora’s Pride collections. Guests will also get 15 percent off all MAC purchases.
- June 11 at 12:30 p.m. Bring the kids out for Drag Story Hour at American Dream in East Rutherford, where Harmonica Sunbeam will read stories that promote diversity and acceptance. Located at Court A within the American Dream mall.
- June 11 at 1:30 p.m. There will be a parade down George Street to kick off Tenafly Pride’s festivities, dubbed “Say Gay Day,” followed by a ceremony at Huyler Park.
- June 11 at 4 p.m. Come on out to the Ridgefield Park Summer Arts Fest on Main and Grove streets. Though it’s not a Pride-specific event, this festival will feature live music and dancing, including New Jersey native Robert Bannon, who will perform his emotional song, “I Think He Knew Me,” about a boy coming out to his dad.
- June 12 at 1 p.m. Leonia Pride 2022, its second-annual celebration, will feature speakers, entertainment, a biergarten, food trucks, bouncy houses and more family fun at Wood Park.
- June 12 at 4 p.m. Mahwah kicks off its second-annual LGBTQ Pride Celebration & Art Show at Commodore Perry Field, featuring vendors, music, art exhibits and entertainment. P.S.: Show up early at 3:30 p.m. if you don’t want to miss drag queen story time!
- June 13 at 5 p.m. Join the county’s official Bergen County Pride 2022 party at the Gazebo Flagpole located at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus for the flag raising. What follows will be a festival featuring music, refreshments, giveaways, a live DJ and more.
- June 25 at 1 p.m. Join four drag queens from Ru Paul’s Drag Race and enjoy tunes from a live DJ at Pride and Diversity at Prohibition Bar in Westwood. General admission is $20 if you purchase tickets before 6/11—otherwise, it’s $25.
- June 26 at 12:30 p.m. The Pride Block Party in Fair Lawn outside the Municipal Building will include arts and crafts, live music, a performance from the Fair Lawn Pride Chorus, as well as drag queen story time and bingo brunch.
And it’s not in Bergen County, but we’d be remiss not to mention the official 11th annual North Jersey Pride Festival, taking place this Sunday, June 12 from 12 to 6 p.m. at Memorial Park in Maplewood. Enjoy live performances, a food court, more than 100 vendors selling their goods and a Rainbow Kids Zone featuring inflatables and fun for kids of all ages.
How will you be celebrating Pride in Bergen County? Tell us on Instagram @bergenmagnj!
