Throughout four weeks in June, the village of Bellows Falls celebrated the queer community and kept the legacy of the Andrews Inn alive.
So what did Bellows Falls Pride actually do to honor Pride month? By revering our history and staying true to who we are, engaging locally with merchants, inviting aligned nonprofits to collaborate, and honoring the seminal decade of activism by the founders of the Andrews Inn, our plans unfolded organically and powerfully on a local level.
We began by booking four classic LGBTQ-themed films at the beautiful Bellows Falls Opera House. We paid homage to the Andrews Inn with a founder's photo exhibit. We supported a Pride Whistlestop Tour through all 10 Amtrak Vermonter stations, with a crowd of more than 30 people in Bellows Falls - and were joined by Vermont's U.S. representative, Becca Balint!
We purchased a 30-foot rainbow banner that appeared first at the train station and now hangs proudly above the downtown Square. We held a T-Dance at the incredible Field Center.