Lititz Chooses Love will host a coming out festival beginning at 12 noon on Sunday, Oct. 8, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Penryn.
The organization’s founder, Parker Webb, describes the event as a more internal celebration than the outward facing Pride Festival that Lititz Chooses Love held in June.
“The Coming Out Festival is a celebration where folks share their coming out stories both with the community and allies who want to learn,” Webb said.
The day will begin with a land acknowledgement and short discussion about Indigenous People’s Day, which is the following day, Monday, Oct 9.
There will then be an open mic for people to share stories of coming out. DJ Lady D will play music and provide an opportunity for karaoke.
Two dozen vendors, including nonprofits, food trucks, boutiques, and other businesses, will have booths on-site. A raffle will be held with prizes from local businesses. The event is dog-friendly.
Lititz Chooses Love planned the festival to coincide with National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, first celebrated in the U.S. in 1988. It commemorates the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on Oct. 11, 1987, a large political rally addressing a host of LGBTQ+ concerns, especially the AIDS pandemic.
Webb says the event “brings us back to our organization’s roots. Lititz Chooses Love began as a ‘listening event’ when a Pride flag was vandalized in Lititz. From there it has grown into a supportive and accepting community, where we focus on inclusivity, different abilities and other intersectionalities.”
St. Paul Lutheran is an LGBTQ+ welcoming institution that, in addition to being a partner of Lititz Chooses Love, provides it office space. The church also provides a food pantry and gender-affirming clothing bank.
(Editor’s Note: This story was updated Oct. 6 to correct the event start time.)
