New Paltz Pride March and Festival packs Main Street, Hasbrouck Park (original) (raw)

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Hundreds and hundreds of people packed the streets of New Paltz and Hasbrouck Park for the 22nd annual New Paltz Pride March and Festival.

The march, which stepped off from New Paltz Middle School at noon, featured several groups, floats fully decked out in rainbow decorations, bands and a large trans flag that took dozens to lift up. Many others joined in with signs such as “The Hudson Valley is Queer,” “Support Trans Rights” and “Gay Rights are Human Rights.”

Grand Marshall Stephan Hengst, who has participated in every New Paltz Pride march, said the flag commissioned by Big Gay Hudson Valley is 125 feet long by 18 feet wide and debuted in 2025 at a Pride event that year on Walkway Over the Hudson.

Hengst added that the flag travels the area to uplift the trans community and promote solidarity around trans rights.

The New Paltz Pride March and Festival drew hundreds and hundreds of people to the village of New Paltz on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Brian Hubert, Daily Freeman)

As the procession headed down into the heart of the village, the crowds drew larger and the cheers grew louder as the procession reached the largest crowds gathered at the corner of Main Street, Plattekill Ave and North Front Street, where the march turned onto Plattekill Avenue before concluding at Hasbrouck Park where a large festival got underway.

Larger groups included the New Paltz United Teachers Union and a large contingent from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Nicole Sullivan, a teacher at New Paltz Middle School, led a contingent of appoximately of the New Paltz United Teachers union.

She said the educators came out to support LGBTQIA+ students past and present

“We love to see our current and former students,” she said.

Sullivan said the union is working on a “nourishment” program that will put LGBTQ+ books in teachers’ hands at a time when some elected officials have pushed to erase these voices from schools.

Rev. Tobias Anderson, Redeemer Lutheran Church’s pastor, said he knew he wanted the church on state Route 32 to go out for Pride more than ever with the current situation in this country.

This meant between 20-25 members of his congregation joining the march, and Redeemer partnering with local rock band the Minorikeys to rent a large flatbed truck turned float that carried the band, who played covers of hit rock and pop songs from across the past several decades throughout the parade route.

“We needed to do up Pride and make a loud noise for justice,” Anderson said. Joing Anderson was n.

Anderson, joined by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Priest Rev. Allison Moore and a contingent of members from her congregation, said he wanted to send a message to the public that there are faith communities that offer an alternative to the hateful headline-grabbing, homophobic and Christian Nationalist narratives pushed by right-wing churches and their leaders.

Amongst the most decorated vehicles in the parade were Hudson Valley Ghostbusters trucks done up with a “Ghostbusters” theme, complete with all-white paint and the Ghostbusters logo, like the famous Ecto-1 Ghostbusters car and a full crew dressed in “Ghostbusters” outfits

Matt Bennett, of Goshen, who leads the non-profit, said they always come out to support Pride events.

“We have members who are in the Pride community and we want to help,” Bennett said.

Haley Swetz, owner of Gardiner-based Take the Leap Dance Studio, entered a float for the first time after being in the parade for several years.

She said they brought along 15 kids who rode on a trailer pulled by a van owned by her uncle Eric Kwak’s electrician firm.

“Every kid needs to have a place where they can belong,” she said.

Also joining the procession were elected officials from all levels.

Jay Blotcher, who co-founded the Pride March and served as its Grand Marshal in 2025, said after the march that he loved seeing how many people brought their kids to the event.

He said this is key as this exposes kids to the LGBTQIA+ community and helps to quash out fears that existed in previous generations.

A large festival in Hasbrouck Park featured numerous organizations and agencies offering everything from free tchotchkes and treats like cookies to services focused on the LGBTQIA+ community.

But the highlight of the festival was a full slate of performances that opened with queer take on the Pledge of Allegiance, including the Resisterhood Chorus and a collective of Hudson Valley drag performers who offered their own takes on hit songs, with a rendition of the hit 1989 B-52’s song “Love Shack” being a particular fan favorite amongst audiences of all ages.