Patchogue pride parade scheduled for June 4

Earlier tonight, Monday, Jan. 23, the Village of Patchogue board of trustees approved a request by the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce to host a Pride Parade on Main Street. The event was unanimously approved for Sunday, June 4 from noon to 2 p.m.

“There is a groundswell of support to hold this,” said executive director of the chamber David Kennedy noting 30 people showed up to the first meeting.

Organizers of the event, members of the chamber, and owners of Patch Print Ship & More James and Ron Diele-Stein attended the meeting to request approval noting now is the time to have a pride event in the village. The last Patchogue pride event was hosted by the chamber during Alive After Five in 2019 and was nixed due to COVID.

“We need to have something that sets us apart--- it’s really important for us, it’s important for our community,” James said.

Kennedy also noted that the event is intended to be family-friendly.

“We need to show everyone, you’re accepted here in Patchogue,” he added.

Ron also noted how successful Babylon’s pride parade is and how nice it is to see the support from the community.

“It’s really touching to see,” he said of the rainbow décor throughout the village.

The event was scheduled for June, with a TBA raindate. Streets will be closed from Route 112 to West Avenue, Main Street from Church to Oak Streets, and Ocean and Railroad Avenues from South to Main Streets.

Despite the positive approval of the event, mayor Paul Pontieri suggested the chamber look into limiting the number of days Main Street is closed to a number higher than the current 15.