Inaugural Pride Parade Offers Support, Allyship For LGBTQ+ Community

ORLEANS – The skies were gray, but residents and visitors brought plenty of color to downtown Orleans on Saturday.

 The inaugural Lower Cape Pride Parade, which stepped off from the parking lot of Snow Library and followed Main Street to the Artist Cottages on Old Colony Road, brought people of all ages, colors and backgrounds together in celebration of Pride Month.

 “This is historic and the first of many to come,” said select board Chair Kevin Galligan, who proudly produced the certificate that legally recognized he and his husband Vince’s marriage during comments at the Artist Cottages during the parade.

 The nonprofit Lower Cape Pride coordinated the parade, as well as a slate of Pride-related events and programming that preceded and followed it. On June 13, a barbecue was held at the Orleans Senior Center, while a “Pride Social” was held at the Alley Bowling and BBQ. Following the parade on Saturday, an afternoon of programming was staged at the Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster.

 Orleans residents Rick and Joan Francolini led a group that first began organizing the events last summer. Rick, whose daughter is bisexual, said broad community support such as that showcased last weekend goes a great way toward further normalizing LGBTQ culture. 

 “I will tell you, there is nothing more important to members of the queer community than to have support from allies,” he told attendees gathered on the Village Green ahead of the start of the parade Saturday.

 Joan Lockhart of Eastham was one such ally who walked in the parade. Lockhart, who helps run the LGBTQ program at the Eastham Council on Aging, said she walked in support of her friends and family members in the gay and LGBTQ community.

 “It just brings more awareness to the plight of our queer neighbors,” she said. “Especially in these times, it’s so important to show that we’re here for them.”

 On the green, music was provided by Sarah Burrill as attendees gathered, embraced and chatted ahead of the parade. Orleans residents Gloria and Linda Bailey-Davies, who were plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit that paved the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts more than two decades ago, served as the parade’s grand marshals. 

 For Gloria and Linda, who celebrated their 21st anniversary in May, Saturday’s parade was evidence of how far acceptance of gay culture has come both locally and nationally. Linda recalled the fear that came with attending their first gay pride march back in the early 1990s, as well as hearing the cheers while sitting aboard the Duck Boats as part of a parade in Boston following the lawsuit. 

 “But you know what? Today beats that,” she said. “It just beats it.”

 While the couple’s relationship holds a special place in history, Gloria said it took many people over the course of many years to help advance the fight for LGBTQ rights.

 “Just think of how many among you told your stories to your families and your friends. And you know what? We changed the world,” she said.