SUNDAY JUNE 12 BLOCK PARTY UPDATE:
Stuart Street Block Party is OPEN!!
JP will NOT take place today and we welcome all guests to join us at our Stuart Street Party (between Arlington and Berkeley) which will be up & running soon.
In response to the calls, FB posts and emails we’re receiving regarding the cancellation of the JP Block Party, we felt it important to give the community insight into our decision, which was not made lightly. Â The Boston Pride Committee regrets to give this news to folks, especially the local community in JP, who are a huge part of bringing Perkins Street to life for the 7 hours we’re there.
The decision was based on a number of factors including limited volunteer resources and financial considerations. Due to the inclement weather, the Boston Pride Committee will suffer a financial loss today regardless of any decision we make, and so we had to make some tough choices that would help us reduce that loss. Stuart Street is our largest fundraising event of the year and accounts for a large portion of our revenue stream.
We faithfully host the smaller, more community-based JP Block Party because we LOVE it and we love the JP Community (and its allies!!). We hope you’ll all join us today at Stuart Street. Entrance is free from 12 noon – 2pm. Wouldn’t it be awesome to dance in the rain and cold TOGETHER for a change?!
Proudly,
Keri Aulita
Deputy Director
This is honestly a shame. Lesbian community gets the short end of the stick yet again!
Jen-
I’d like to direct you to our public letter printed on the home page of our website on Sunday.
There are many factors that went into the decision to cancel an event that we’ve worked on for 11 months and I assure you that not one of them was based on the L G B or T. The Boston Pride Committee worked tirelessly all year to produce Pride Week and we are surely among the most disappointed. We also find it important to keep reminding people that the JP and Stuart Street Block Parties are not “women’s” and “men’s” parties, either in name or intent. Everyone is welcome at both.
Lastly, I leave you with this: Managing the door at Stuart Street was an amazing experience this year. I recognized many faces from the JP Block Party and asked if they came over to Stuart Street because of the cancellation. Everyone I asked, said yes. But it didn’t end there. Everyone I spoke with questioned why we even have two block parties and emphasized how great it would be to have one incredible space where we could all dance the day away. Together. It was really awesome to see so many of us in one space, even if we were cold and under a sky full of clouds. We were the silver lining.
The Boston Pride Committee welcomes questions, concerns and feedback and I hope I’ve explained the difficult position we were in on Sunday morning. If, however, you have more questions or thoughts, please do give a call to the PrideLine: (617) 262-9405. I’d be happy to discuss.
Best,
Keri A. Aulita
Deputy Director