Shepherdstown Gay Pride Parade organizer Joan Moossy talks about the progress of her plans, in the Shepherdstown Town Hall on April 9. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The first annual Shepherdstown Gay Pride Parade will be held in downtown Shepherdstown on June 1 at 6 p.m.

According to organizer Joan Moossy, the parade will help kick off celebrations in the region for Pride Month.

“This isn’t just Shepherdstown’s first Pride Parade — it’s a historic milestone,” Moossy said. “We’re honoring our past, claiming our space in the present and building a joyful, liberated future — right here in West Virginia.”

Moossy began making plans for the Shepherdstown Gay Pride Parade last year, after volunteering with the Fourth of July Parade in Shepherdstown. She felt that the town needed to have a Pride Month celebration, especially since its former celebration — a street festival — was ended by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“At a time when LGBTQ+ communities across the U.S. are being legislated against, marginalized and silenced, Shepherdstown’s first Pride Parade rises as a powerful first step forward,” Moossy said. “The parade will showcase marching groups from across the region, including local institutions like The Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea, Shepherdstown Bee City, the Contemporary American Theater Festival and Roving Peregrine Theater Company; statewide advocates like Fairness West Virginia; national organizations like Kevin Bacon’s youth social impact 501©(3) nonprofit SixDegrees; and regional allies such as Front Royal Pride and Hagerstown Hopes.”

She noted that most of the other Pride Month celebrations being held in the region have been scheduled for further into the month of June. With the early date of the parade, she hopes to see a good turnout from community members wanting to commemorate the anniversary of the June 28, 1969 Stonewall Uprising and celebrate the accomplishments of LGBTQ+ individuals.

“Our theme for this inaugural parade is ‘Historic Firsts,'” Moossy said. “The parade honors the courageous individuals who paved the way for equality — both in West Virginia and beyond. The parade will be led by Grand Marshal Rosemary Ketchum, the first out transgender person elected to public office in the state (Wheeling City Council, 2020-2024). Other trailblazers being recognized include: Silas Starry, Shepherdstown’s mayor from 1972 to 1980, who may have been the first openly gay elected official in the U.S.; John J. Mason and D.J. Jearbear, creators of Shepherdstown’s early grassroots Pride events (2014-2017); and Steven Skinner, Shepherdstown resident and the first out gay member of the West Virginia legislature (2013-2016).”

She noted that the Corporation of Shepherdstown has been overwhelmingly supportive of this event, with particularly strong backing by the Town Council and Mayor James Gatz, who is believed to be the third gay mayor of Shepherdstown.

Similarly, the businesses in Shepherdstown have been incredibly supportive of the new event.

“Shepherdstown’s businesses will host a full weekend of LGBTQ+ events in solidarity and celebration,” Moossy said.

Some of those events include: a “Pre-Pride Celebration, Rainbow Connections: Building CommUNITY” event at the Black Box Arts Center on May 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; a screening of “Kinky Boots” at the Shepherdstown Opera House on May 31 at 7 p.m.; special Pride Month services at Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; a free yoga session on the McMurran Hall lawn on June 1 at 4:30 p.m., led by Mohalu Wellness; the Banned Book Club at Four Seasons Books holding a discussing of Maia Kobabe’s memoir, “Gender Queer,” on June 1 at 5 p.m.; and a drag show hosted by Chad/Chastity Vain, called the “Royal Revue,” will be held at Panagiota’s Taste of Greece restaurant on June 1 at 7 p.m.

Those who are interested in helping or partnering together with the parade are encouraged to reach out to Moossy, at shepherdstowngayprideparade@gmail.com or 212-254-1730.