STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — June is Pride Month, and some communities in northeastern Pennsylvania are wasting no time to celebrate it.
The Fourth Annual Pocono Pride Festival was held Sunday in the heart of Monroe County.
Live music, good weather, and great vibes.
That's how people at Pocono Pride Festival in Stroudsburg describe this event.
One woman who came with her fiancé says what brings her back year after year is the atmosphere.
"Yeah there's a lot more booths this year and there's a lot of really cool small businesses with little like stickers and pins and stuff," said Stroudsburg resident Katie Heinen.
A positive and safe atmosphere is something organizers of this event strive to do.
"The best part today is the community, everyone comes out, they dresses, they dress, how they feel comfortable, and there's just so much love in the air," said Pocono Pride Festival co-founder Erik Diemer.
This event is also a way to help boost local businesses in downtown Stroudsburg.
PennDOT announces upcoming lane restrictions on I-81"We designed this event to not involve Main Street as much as possible so that way our normal merchants on Main Street, still have normal access to do normal business, and the Pocono Pride Coalition offered a free vendor space to all of the businesses within our footprint," Diemer explained.
A common theme throughout the festival is spreading love and that's what Trixy Valentine is here to do.
"I'm here to give inspiration, visibility representation, and make sure people feel loved," Drag Performer Trixy Valentine said.
Valentine says such things as this festival show the community is taking a step in the right direction.
"It honestly just means that we're progressing and doing what needs to show we're queer and we're here and we ain't going anywhere," Valentine stated.
"It's a great time and people should come next year," Heinen added.
Pocono Pride Festival is held on the first Sunday of June each year.