By John Valinch
Last June, our city celebrated the historic raising of the Pride rainbow flag in celebration of Pride Month in Chelsea for the first time. In doing so we joined cities, towns and groups across the country. It was also raised in honor of those whose lives were taken abruptly in the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida.
This year, the Chelsea LGBTQ+ Coalition invites you to raise the Pride flag for the second year in a row with us on Sunday, May 28 at 2 P.M. at Chelsea City Hall! We will raise the flag in solidarity, resolve, and compassion while we commemorate Pride month and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community with our allies. Following the event, everyone is welcome to join friends and family at Mystic Brewery for an after party. Light refreshments will be served.
By raising the Pride flag, we embrace the values that its color scheme invokes: red, symbolizing life; orange, symbolizing healing; yellow, symbolizing sunlight; green, symbolizing nature; blue, symbolizing peace and harmony; and violet, symbolizing spirit. As a community, it is imperative that we come together with our loved ones to reflect on how far the LGBTQ+ community has advanced in society, and to imagine a world where each day is Pride Month: where everyone is valued and loved equally, everywhere.