SOCIAL SCENE: Second Annual Westwood Pride Celebration

The Second Annual Westwood Pride celebration, organized by the interfaith clergy and members of Inclusive Westwood, was a lively and joyous event.
 
“Westwood Pride is a day where we can come together as a community to celebrate and love our LGBTQIA+ neighbors, friends, and family,” said Inclusive Westwood’s Stephani Bhatti. “We see messages of fear and exclusion everyday, whether it be national headlines or our local Facebook pages, and it’s important that as individuals, and as a community, we LOVE louder. It’s a beautiful day of community, love, and celebration, where all are welcome”
 

Attendees were treated to several sessions of electrifying music by Ellen Rollings, an inspiring poetry reading by Westwood’s first Youth Poet Laureate Lucie Sechler, and two hilarious improv shows led by Patrick French. The public contributions at the end of the poetry readings brought a diverse range of voices, significantly increasing the enjoyment for all. The kids who attended the festival on Sunday were not spoiled for choice, starting with the delightful story walk, a massive banner for coloring, rocks to paint and take home, face painting and an impromptu game with a giant soccer ball.
 

Representatives from local organizations like OUT MetroWest, Westwood Youth and Family Services, the Rainbow Peace Flag Project, and the Westwood Library also attended Sunday’s event to share all about the different resources and programming they provide to the LGBTQIA+ community. Any that couldn’t attend in person, sent materials to be shared at the event.
 

Who can forget the beautifully “spun to order ” cotton candy enjoyed by all. The Boston Media Systems proprietor, Richard Chaloff, worked at the cotton candy station while his wife, Pauline, served the popcorn.
 

“Preparing for the Westwood Pride celebration was a great opening for us to have a conversation about the diversity of families in town” said Pauline Chaloff who is also an Inclusive Westwood Event organizing committee member.
 
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for the Chaloff’s; their son Chase, a third grader at the Sheehan school just happened to be working on an acrostic poem about allyship for a school assignment at the same time as Pauline and Richard were volunteering to organize the festival.
 
“Our family helping with the festival is us being allies to our LGBTQ+ neighbors & friends; It’s a concrete example he could easily understand,” Pauline said. “We want to show our LGBTQ+ neighbors & friends how loved they are, appreciated and valued.”