The Eighth Frederick Pagan Pride Day is in the books and I am once again trying to figure out how to put overwhelming gratitude into words. First, let’s talk about the donations! One of the most important things Frederick Pagan Pride does is share our community resources with our wider region in the form of a food drive for the Frederick Food Bank and a food and supply drive for the Frederick Animal Shelter. This year, attendees donated 615 pounds of food to the Frederick Food Bank and 393 pounds of food and supplies to the Frederick Animal Shelter. That’s a combined total of over a THOUSAND pounds of donations! This gift to our region is so important, especially as the colder days of winter appear on the horizon. THANK YOU for sharing your resources with some of the most needful in the Frederick area.
Our raffle raised $1265 in donations. That money goes toward next year’s Frederick Pagan Pride Day (portajohn rentals, shuttle service, entertainment budget, etc). Deep gratitude to everyone who contributed to the raffle.
This year’s Pride drew around 550 people! We are so grateful to everyone who came out to celebrate their Pagan Pride with us!
And speaking of gratitude, there is just so much….
…for the Volunteers. 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.
…for the 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 informational 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!
…for 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 in the hot summer sun, 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!
…for the weather! I spent the week leading up to Frederick Pagan Pride Day obsessing over weather maps, wondering whether the horrors that Hurricane Helene visited upon our southern brethren would kibosh the festival. Somehow, a day with rain in the forecast turned into a glorious, sunlit summer day. It feels almost like a dream given the cool, gray, rainy weather on either side of this past Saturday. I don’t even have the words for my gratitude for this small miracle. And, we all send our love and support to all those who lost so much to the hurricane.
…for Jeff! For the past nine years, Jeff has taken lead on volunteer coordination and the mechanics of running much of the day of the festival (Capricorns, amiright?). By taking on the leadership of volunteer coordination, it shifted a big pile of work off my plate. Although I am the visible “face” of Frederick Pagan Pride Day, my role is larger in the leading-up part of festival planning. Jeff has been such a blessing these past nine years. And, after an incredible donation of labor, service, laughter, and LONG hours, Jeff is stepping down and handing his giant ridiculous coordinator top hat off to Robyn. THANK YOU, JEFF. We couldn’t have done it without you. And, thank you Robyn for putting on the hat for next year!
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!
Let’s do it again next year.
~Irene Glasse, lead Frederick Pagan Pride Day coordinator
Frederick Pagan Pride Day 