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Babylon Village Pride is back again, with LGBTQ+ Pride Month set to be bigger and better than ever in the village.
The festivities kick off Sunday, June 5, with the village’s third annual Pride Parade at 3 p.m. Marchers and floats will assemble behind Fitness Incentive, before starting the parade on Main Street and then proceeding down Deer Park Avenue toward Lily Flanagan’s.
Created in 2020 by two Babylonians — Bob McKeown and a local entertainer who goes by Roman and Bob McKeown — the pride event has attracted interest from across Long Island and beyond.
For Roman and McKeown, what started out as a dream has become an event that has exceeded all expectations.
“I’m overwhelmed in the best way, I can’t believe we’re in our third year,” Roman said. “I didn’t expect for it to affect so many people’s lives in a positive manner … It started out as kind of a celebration of appreciation, but now it’s a full-circle moment of people saying how much it means for a town like Babylon Village to show pride.”
Roman said there are a lot more village businesses involved this year, and more “queens” from all over Long Island and New York City are taking part in the event.
Multiple post-parade parties are happening too, Roman added, so attendees have plenty of celebration options. This includes a gathering at Mary Carroll’s at 4 p.m. and an after-party at 6 p.m. at the Post Office Café.
Roman expressed how important it is to see LGBTQ+ pride represented in towns like Babylon Village.
“People are taking Babylon Pride and making it their own,” Roman said. “This is the town that we live in, we are pride: the families that are LBGTQ+ here, the business owners, employees, workers, people passing through, it’s Babylonians putting pride together.”
For more information, visit the official Babylon Village Pride website here and check out @babylonpride on Instagram for updates.
Roman also recently posted a call-out on Instagram for extra dancers, so if anyone is interested, please message them @romancontrol.
