‘It’s for us to celebrate:’ Pride festival makes bold strut in downtown Salisbury

SALISBURY, Md.- “This is what I do. This is what I love and that’s helping people out,” Bean said.

Rosie Bean is a board member with Salisbury PFLAG. Bean proudly identifies as non-binary but says it was a journey getting there. “I was adopted into a family in the deep south and it’s not really a good place to come out and be authentic,” Bean said.

Bean has now lived in Maryland for more than two decades and says the move is when they finally found a sense of belonging. “We have our community. It’s growing and it’s getting stronger every day. We see more love every day,” Bean said.

That love was seen bright and bold on Saturday as the second annual Salisbury Pride Parade and Festival made quite the strut in downtown. “We’ve got new people, new groups, different vendors, and a couple new stage acts. We’re happy to not only have the show we had last year but a new and improved show,” Salisbury PFLAG Executive Director Mark DeLancey said.

DeLancey says the goal of the day was simple, giving those a part of the LGBTQ+ community, their families, and allies a safe space. “It’s for us to celebrate unity and come together as one. Also, to stop being scared and feeling like we’re treated as second class citizens because here we’re all the same,” DeLancey said.

Bean says events like this also allow her to continue her advocacy work. They also shared with us a few words they’d tell their younger self. “I’d say hold in there. It gets better slowly but surely. You also have to advocate for yourself and be your own best advocate because no one is going to do it for you. Use your voice and use your power,” Bean said.

“Here we’re all the same and here we’re all equal. We can celebrate that and enjoy that,” DeLancey said.

Salisbury PFLAG tells us they’re looking to expand the event in the future, including the potential to make it a full weekend.