Pride, music, fun promised

Warwick’s Pride 2025 event on Sunday, June 8 starts at 11 a.m. with a celebration at the Warwick Valley Community Center, 11 Hamilton Avenue.

There will be free brunch, music, activities, and support tables. At 1.30 p.m. the Pride Parade steps off from the Center led by Funkrust Brass Band, with a special new treat–– the Pride Paw Parade. Prizes for best dressed dogs are sponsored by the Warwick Village Barkery. The parade route is Orchard Street, to Main Street, to High Street and Forester Ave, arriving at the Pavilion at Veterans Memorial Park by 2.30 p.m. for the Pride Show with food trucks and vendors until 5 p.m.

The Community Center has been serving Warwick since 1977 with community enrichment classes, as a venue for concerts and theater performances, and a meeting place for non-profit community groups. It’s a safe drug and alcohol free place for teens and young adults, and its youth leadership and prevention programs have served hundreds of children.

“For over a decade the Center has supported youth in the LGBTQ+ community with our leadership programs, and through our collaboration with arts non-profit Wickham Works,” says WVCC Director Karen Thomas. “The Pride event is a day to celebrate our communities diversity and inclusion in a family-friendly way.”

The Bob and Randi Barlow said they are thrilled to serve as grand marshals of this year’s event. The couple founded the TFAST support group in 2015, soon after their son came out as transgender. (TFAST stands for Transgender Family Alliance for Support and Teaching). For a decade, the free monthly group has been a haven for parents, family members and other allies of trans and non-binary people.

“Folks come to TFAST seeking support, information and compassion,” explains co-facilitator Randi Barlow, a social worker specializing in gender issues. “And we can help with all that, because we’ve been in their shoes. We understand the confusion. We understand the fear. But we also understand the potential for happiness and fulfillment.”

Notes co-facilitator Bob Barlow, a retired public school teacher: “In addition to our mission of supporting our members and their loved ones, we’re also committed to helping people become better informed. So we’re especially excited at the prospect of connecting with the public at Pride. Folks have questions; we’re here to answer them!”

For more information, details at WarwickValleyCommunityCenter.Org, on FB, or call (845) 986-6422