By Jordan J. Phelan
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — In a press release issued on Wednesday, Rural Outright, a community program of TLC Family Resource Center providing support and advocacy for rural LGBTQIA+ folks and their allies, announced that the entity will not be hosting any in-person events for Rural PRIDE 2020 in an effort to support the health and safety of local communities.
“We are obviously disappointed that we can’t come together and celebrate the way we want to. But what is most important is the health and safety of our community. We know that many, many people look forward to this event, and we do too, but we are working hard on new ways to show our PRIDE,” said Matt Mooshian, Rural Outright program coordinator and Rural PRIDE organizer.
In place of the in-person celebration, Rural Outright instead plans to host a virtual weekend of PRIDE.
“The LGBTQIA+ community is endlessly resilient, and our community’s response to the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis is no exception,” the press release states. “We understand that this news is difficult for many people, and we want you to know this decision was not easy to make.”
Rural PRIDE 2020: An online celebration will be live streamed to Rural Outright’s facebook page, facebook.com/ruralNHoutright, on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20. Details about Rural PRIDE 2020: An online celebration are still forthcoming, so be sure to check out tlcfamilyrc.org/ruralPRIDE to stay updated.
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