Flag raising, proclamations and family hike all part of planned festivities
According to a statement, the town of Windsor will be flying the Progressive Pride flag over the town throughout the month of June to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride.
On June 1 at 10 a.m., there will be a small gathering to inaugurate Pride month at the Civic Center flag poles on the corner of Old Redwood Highway and Joe Rodota Drive. All Windsor residents are welcome to attend, however masks and social distancing will continue to be strictly enforced.
The Progressive Pride flag being flown, designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar, was created to address feelings of underrepresentation by some member of the community in the previous Pride flag. The Progressive Pride flag incorporates black and brown to represent the marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities of color and pink, light blue and white for transgender people.
In June of 2019 Meredith Rennie and Lorene Romero hung a pride flag in the middle kiosk of the Town Green. But, later in the night someone cut it down.
“I reported it as a hate crime, because it was,” Romero said in a statement. “At the next town council meeting they did a proclamation to make June pride month and reminded everyone hate was not allowed in Windsor.”
The town also changed to lights over the fountains in the Town Green to rainbow colors to help commemorate Pride.
“They had discussed a future opportunity to have a flag flying with the traditional flags in the future,” Romero said. “Then, in 2020, COVID hit so the only thing they were allowed to do was another proclamation. This year they passed a resolution in January giving permission to fly the Pride flag in June.”
For a third consecutive year, the town of Windsor will be submitting their official Proclamation declaring June Pride month at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, June 2 at 6 p.m. This zoom meeting will be open to all Windsor residents. Details of how to participate can be found here.
Additionally, North Bay LGBTQI+ Families in partnership with Sonoma County Pride will be hosting a Family Friendly Hike at Foothills Park in Windsor on June 13 from 10 a.m. to noon. This all-ages Family Pride Hike will be led by C.L. Teravainen (He/Him), a queer and trans California naturalist.
A former environmental educator with Sonoma County Regional Parks, Teravainen enjoys sharing his love of art and the outdoors with those around him. Teravainen has also facilitated the North Bay LGBTQI Families monthly social and family gathering for gender-expansive youth under 12.
Regional Parks staff will be present and available at this event to interact with families, and will bring some nature-related show and tell items from the park for kids to explore. While families should bring water and snacks, there will be some additional light refreshments on hand. See the Sonoma County Pride website for further information and other events (virtual and live) planned throughout the month: https://www.sonomacountypride.org/
“It’s no secret that Windsor has been through a lot this year. Yet, despite all of the chaos, my partner and I have been able to see this town’s welcoming spirit. This little community really cares for its own and we are so grateful for neighbors who have become our family, a strong Facebook community to connect virtually, and the central gathering place in the Town Green to feel a part of the House of Windsor this past year,” said Spencer Blank in a statement. Blank moved to Windsor last June from downtown San Francisco with his fiancé Jon Ruiz.
“Commemorating Pride month and other intentional actions as this are important at the local, state, federal and global levels until all LGBTQIA+ youth are raised in a world where they can let all the colors of their rainbows fly without fear or barriers,” Blank concluded.
