Community members turned out on Saturday for a car parade, moving speeches, and a message that has only grown louder since 2021: you belong here

Reading, MA — Reading held its sixth annual Pride Parade on Saturday, June 6, drawing around 200 attendees to the Town Common for a celebration filled with music, community, and moving speeches. A brief sprinkle couldn’t dampen the spirit of the afternoon, and organizers noted the weather was considerably kinder than the downpours of recent years.

The celebration kicked off at 3:00 pm with a car parade through town, followed by festivities on the Common, including bubbles, face painting, and music from DJ Jazzy Jacob.

Watch coverage of the event on the RCTV Youtube page.

Voices from the Common

Rev. Emelia Attridge (she/her) of the First Congregational Church opened the program with a call-and-response song centered on lifting one another up, reminding the crowd that liberation exists in community. The message set the tone for an afternoon grounded in solidarity and belonging.

Organizer Laura Wilson (she/her) of the POP Huddle welcomed the crowd, marking the occasion as Reading’s 6th Pride Parade and expressing gratitude to everyone who showed up. Helana Johnson (she/her), who spoke at Reading’s very first Pride event in 2021, returned to the stage to share a poem by Mary Oliver – the late Massachusetts poet known for her lyrical meditations on nature, identity, and love. Johnson’s remarks were personal and direct, closing with an invitation for the crowd to honk their support, because, as she put it, they belong.

On being the example they never had

The Reading Observer’s Taylor Gregory (they/them) delivered a speech on why representation matters, drawing on their own journey of self-discovery as a trans, non-binary, bisexual person who grew up in an era when being anything but straight was largely frowned upon.

Gregory spoke of finding community in unexpected places – a group of nerds in middle school, the boys’ ultimate frisbee team in high school, a more diverse circle of LGBTQ+ people in college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute – and of the slow, private work of understanding who they were. The pandemic, they said, gave them time to sit with questions they had long set aside, eventually leading to the realization that they were non-binary and, later, the decision to change their name.

“I choose to live my life openly and freely because I want to be the example I never had growing up.” – Taylor Gregory

Gregory closed by reflecting on Reading’s 2023 book challenge to the graphic novel Gender Queer, saying the book made them wish they had access to that kind of information as an 11-year-old. “I would have felt so much less alone,” they said, “because I saw myself in that story.”

Following the speech, Wilson presented Gregory with the Select Board’s 2026 Pride Resolution.

Awards and the Furry Walk

Two awards were presented during the afternoon’s festivities. Andrew and Taylor Gregory took home the award for Best Decorated Car, while the Sullivan House was recognized for Best Cheering Station.

At 4:30 pm, a group of teens organized a Furry Walk, inviting anyone who wanted to walk with their pets or in their furry costumes to circle the Town Common together. The lighthearted tradition drew enthusiastic participants and plenty of smiles from the crowd.

“This event is all about showing the LGBTQ+ community, especially the young people, that here in Reading, they are seen and accepted.” – Laura Wilson, organizer

Wilson noted that attendance held steady throughout the afternoon and that she was especially moved to see more and more teens and young families turning out each year. After six parades, that growing presence may be the clearest sign that the message is landing.

Thank you to the organizers and community

An event like this doesn’t happen without an enormous amount of heart and hard work behind the scenes. A sincere thank you to Laura Wilson and everyone who organized Reading’s Pride parade, from coordinating speakers and logistics ot making sure the afternoon felt welcoming for everyone who walked onto the Common.

Thank you as well to all the volunteers, the cheering stations, the decorated-car drivers, the teens who organized the Furry Walk, and every community member who showed up with their families, their pets, their pride flags, and their willingness to make someone else feel a little less alone. That is what this day is about, and Reading delivered.