The Eastern Panhandle LGBTQ Alliance announced today that their Second Annual Panhandle PRIDE Celebration will be held at Morgan’s Grove Park in Shepherdstown, on July 11. Gates will open to the public at 11:30 a.m. and the celebration will continue throughout the day, as late as 6 p.m.

Featured again at the Celebration this year will be our own award-winning Shepherdstown musician, Kipyn Martin, who is well known for her amazing singing and instrumental talent.

Martin was a multi-award winner at the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (Gold Award in Open category, Director’s Choice Award, Honorable Mention in Folk/Acoustic) and she was also named a semi-finalist in the 2013 UK Song Contest.

Also featured at the Panhandle PRIDE Celebration are several drag performers, including Stephanie Micheals, who holds the national title of, “Miss Gay West Virginia, USA. ” Micheals will be Master of Ceremonies for the event. Jarvis Jerry Brookes (aka DJ JerrBear) will be the featured DJ for recorded musical selections throughout the day. A local Shepherdstown acting troupe, “Scene Stealers”, and a well-known Baltimore group, “New Wave Singers,” will also be featured, along with another local group, “Luscious Purr,” to round out the festivities.

Rod Snyder, will be the featured speaker, and Alliance President, John Mason noted, “We hope to have a local political figure open our celebration.”

The CLUB in Martinsburg will be the featured food vendor for the Celebration along with other LGBTQ-affirming vendors and several Eastern Panhandle and beyond gay-affirming faith groups and churches. Rounding out the event will be the Jefferson County Health Department offering free HIV testing, along with distributing literature on HIB/AIDS, Breast Cancer and other issues faced by the community.

This year, the celebration theme is “We Are Family,” and the entire Panhandle community is invited to attend in this child-friendly environment. Inquiries, donations, volunteers and sponsorship questions can be directed to the Alliance phone number of 304-728-0247 or PO Box 1431, Charles Town, WV 25414-1430