Hundreds of people turned out for a Pride festival in Littleton Saturday, two years after the town made national headlines for a fight over LGBTQ+ murals.
Cheering spectators - and several dogs - lined Main Street for the kick-off parade, donning rainbow flags. Alex Dunphe and her five-year-old son, Alister, of Littleton, were among them. The crowds left her feeling hopeful.
“It was nice seeing that even though you feel alone, you're not,” Dunphe said. She felt similar encouragement during a No Kings protest a week ago. “It's kind of the same thing with this, where, even though you see a lot of bad, there's still a lot of good out there as well.”
North Country Pride was behind the parade and festival, Littleton’s first, and the murals that divided the town in 2023. They featured nature scenes, rainbow colors, and the words of LGBTQ+ pioneers. Carrie Gendreau, a former state senator and member of the Littleton Select Board, objected, saying they offended her Christian faith. In an interview with the Boston Globe at the time, Gendreau said, “homosexuality is an abomination.”
That history left Amanda Carron, of Littleton, and other North Country Pride volunteers anxious about what to expect Saturday. The team even did de-escalation training, she said. The response was beyond what they hoped.
“Showing up this morning and now seeing the droves of people coming in, it feels really, really great,” Carron said.
Darren Discenzo, of Lancaster, said he attended the festival to show support for a community that’s under attack.
“There's no room for hate. We got enough problems without adding more by hating people,” Discenzo said. “Everybody breathes the same air and bleeds the same blood. And we all need to get along and have a good time together.”
Angelic Morin and Aaron Solcruz made the drive from Vermont. Both identify as bisexual and have LGBTQ+ family members. The rollback of protections and rights for their country has them worried.
“I'm just here to enjoy the time we have left,” Solcruz said. “If [President] Trump passes a bill that abolishes gay marriage or gay rights, then we're pretty much done for here.”
The murals that sparked debate in 2023 were taken down the following year because the building they were on was being renovated. They went up again this week, on the back of a building that sits on Main Street. They now overlook the Ammonoosuc River, and could be seen from the festival grounds Saturday.
