Every year I sit down to write one of these Pagan Pride Day wrap-up posts, and every year it’s hard to even know how to begin.

The stats first: despite a rainy forecast, the Frederick Pagan Pride Day drew slightly over 400 people and raised 351 pounds of food for the Frederick Food Bank, 314 pounds of donations for the Animal Shelter, and $869 (donations plus raffle ticket sales) toward the 2026 Pagan Pride Day. Our numbers were a little low this year due to the weather (and potentially some of the recent political rhetoric and related concerns about gathering in large crowds), but it was still an absolutely wonderful day.

Although Pagan Pride Days writ large were developed as outreach events, my personal take is that they do two important things. One is, of course, outreach. It’s as vital now as it was in the 90’s when this all began. But Pagan Pride Days also serve to bring Pagans from different paths together for a day of sharing – seeing each other, learning about our various traditions, forging connections, helping each other out, and celebrating as one large community. Right now, that second part is vital. It’s so easy to think of the Pagan community as just one’s own local community. To forget that we have friends and allies who share many of our values and perspectives. We can get stuck thinking that we’re going it alone or are forging ahead with just a few like-minded souls. But yesterday, even with a light rain in the middle of the day, there were 400 of us. Sometimes you really do need to see it to believe it.

That’s what I’m sitting with as I write this. The amazing feeling of having been present with my broader community. The joy of seeing people from different Pagan groups throughout the greater DE/MD/VA/PA/WV region joining in the fun (and in some cases the work) of a festival. That although the rhetoric around us is awful, there’s this quiet truth as well: we are NOT alone. We are many. And we are strong.

The 2025 Frederick Pagan Pride Day was a lived, shared reminder that there is hope. There is resilience. There are allies.

Although I serve as the organizational leader of the festival, I do not work alone. Frederick Pagan Pride Day really does take a village to put on. Our all-volunteer corps is around 30 people whose tasks range from planning the event for the months leading up to it to high-intensity shifts setting up, running registration, filling water stations, emptying trash cans, checking bathrooms, answering questions, treating (blessedly few) injuries, checking on vendors, running the sound system, cleaning up at the end of the night and so much more. Special gratitude to my co-lead, Robyn King, for all her hard work coordinating our volunteer corps. It’s a massive body of work and a ton of communications, and Robyn knocked it out of the park.

Deep gratitude to the Presenters, Ritual Leaders, and Entertainment! A festival is nothing without content and this year offered a great mix of traditions, information, encouragement, music, and connection. It takes a lot of work to prep an hour-long workshop, provide entertainment, or offer an opportunity for spiritual connection and devotion for a group of mostly unknown people. THANK YOU.  Thank you so much for sharing your spirituality, expertise, guidance, talent, and leadership with us.

Deep gratitude, as well, to our Vendors and Booth sponsors. We know that part of why Frederick Pagan Pride Day is well attended is the shopping! Every year, we strive to offer a dynamic mix of artisans, purveyors of goods, and information booths to our attendees. Our Vendors and Booth Sponsors travel to us, in many cases, from several states away. We are so grateful to all of you for sharing your work with us.

And, last but not least, a huge and hearty THANK YOU to everyone who did some weather witching on our behalf. Despite the forecast calling for quite a bit of rain, we ended up with only a light misting rain in the middle of the day that lasted for maybe half an hour. We were all able to pack up in dry weather (SO important) and get loaded out easily. The rain finally began just as the last of the volunteers were driving away. Deep gratitude to everyone who helped, humans and spirits alike. It’s always cool to see magic in action.

The autumnal equinox is widely celebrated as Pagan Thanksgiving in our larger culture, and this Pagan Pride Day reminds me why the timing is so appropriate.

We give thanks! We give thanks! We give thanks!

Next year will be our tenth festival. I can’t wait to start planning it.

~ Irene Glasse, lead Frederick Pagan Pride Day coordinator

The Ninth Frederick Pagan Pride Day is TOMORROW and we can’t wait to see you! We’ve been monitoring the weather closely (and bothering our meteorologist friends) and plan to proceed with the festival. There is a possibility of light to moderate rain in the afternoon. Please plan ahead for this and bring whatever you need for your comfort if the weather gets damp (umbrella/poncho/sturdy shoes/etc).

Please remember:

~ Download the mobile-friendly program here

~ Carpool or rideshare if you can. If you’re driving for a full vehicle, drop your passengers off at the festival BEFORE parking your vehicle and taking the shuttle.

~ Bring a donation: Entry into Frederick Pagan Pride is free, but we ask for a donation to The Foodbank Program or the Frederick County Animal Shelter.

~ Hydrate: We recommend bringing a water bottle for our water filling stations.

~ Raffle: bring cash if you would like to enter the raffle. Tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5, cash only.

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, we are encouraging the use of our mobile-friendly e-program. Please download it here. Some print programs will be available for those who need them.

The Ninth Frederick Pagan Pride Day is a week from tomorrow! Join us Saturday, September 27th, from 10 AM to 6 PM at 4880 Elmer Derr Road in Frederick, MD. Let’s talk about parking!

Carpool if you can or consider taking a rideshare service to the event. Parking gets tight at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick and the existing parking lot generally fills early. When the parking lot becomes full (and it will), a shuttle service will be running from the Park and Ride located at the intersection of Cap Stine Road and Mount Zion Road (see map). If you have a group traveling together, please drop your folks off at the event site, then park your car and take the shuttle. It makes the shuttle run a lot faster if the only person using the shuttle service is the driver of the car.

Please remember that admission is a donation to one of two organizations we are supporting this year. You are welcome to bring an item of non-perishable commercially prepared food (no home canned goods, unfortunately) for The Foodbank Program operated by the Frederick Community Action Agency. This year, Frederick Pagan Pride Day is also supporting Frederick County Animal Control. Donations for the Adoption Center can also be given as admission. FCAC is requesting UNOPENED PACKAGES of canned food of any variety, dry food (Iams is preferred, but they will take any sort), bleach, sponges and Dawn dish soap. Other pet supplies are welcome, but must be UNOPENED.

This year’s Frederick Pagan Pride Day is on Saturday, 27th, from 10 AM – 5 PM. As always, it takes a village to offer our annual outreach festival. We have a number of different volunteer roles which we need to fill throughout the day, which vary in terms of sitting, standing, and moving around, and Volunteer Coordinator Robyn will work with you to find times & roles if you have specific needs. All shifts will be for one hour at a time. It’s possible we may add a couple other roles but shifts should largely fall into these categories:

~ Donations table (Seated, recording donations as they come in)

~ Parking assistance (Standing/walking, will have radios)

~ Registration booth (Seated role)

~ Children’s Area

~ Concessions

~ First aid (Seated but also roaming “on-call” duty, will have radios. Certified individuals only)

~ General site & security team (Roaming duty, will have radios. Monitoring supplies, refilling water, responding if a security issue arises, etc.)

~ Close-down (starting around 6pm Saturday)

Whether you’re outgoing, detail-oriented, or just want to help out behind the scenes, there’s a role for you!

Sign up using the google form link here: https://forms.gle/Zcd2fBhTQvfUGJca9

Frederick’s ninth Pagan Pride Day is slated for on Saturday, September 27th, 2025, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. People of all ages and spiritual backgrounds are welcome. The event will include information booths, workshops, live music, vendors and other activities celebrating the Autumn Equinox, a time of thanksgiving in many Pagan traditions.

Our event schedule is now live! This schedule is subject to change but should stay largely the same at this point in planning. Visit the Schedule page for descriptions of the various offerings.

Admission is a donation to one of two organizations we are supporting this year.  You are welcome to bring an item of non-perishable commercially prepared food (no home canned goods, unfortunately) for The Foodbank Program operated by the Frederick Community Action Agency.  This year, Frederick Pagan Pride Day is also supporting Frederick County Animal Control.  Donations for the Adoption Center can also be given as admission.  FCAC is requesting UNOPENED PACKAGES of canned food of any variety, dry food (Iams is preferred, but they will take any sort), bleach, sponges and Dawn dish soap.  Other pet supplies are welcome, but must be UNOPENED.

We are currently accepting workshop and ritual proposals for the 2025 Frederick Pagan Pride Day slated for Saturday, September 27th, with a rain date of Saturday, October 4th. This year’s themes are resilience and community care. If you are interested in offering a ritual or workshop, please fill out this form. We are accepting proposals til May 1st with a final selection by June 15th.

We are also currently booking entertainment. Please fill out this form if you are interested in being considered as a performer.