Montclair Nonprofit Sets Eyes On Creating Local Pride Festival

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A new nonprofit dedicated to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community has officially taken wing in Montclair.

Earlier this week, community leaders from across the township trumpeted the launch of Out Montclair. According to organizers, the group will offer educational, social and leisure activities and events to support and promote inclusivity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, non-binary and gender-fluid youth and adults.

“It will also be a safe space where the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies can come together and celebrate who we are,” organizers said.

People can learn more about the nonprofit at its recently launched website.

The group has many goals. But one of them will be trying to lay the groundwork for a “Montclair Pride Festival” in 2022.

It’s something that would be a win for the township, according to the nonprofit’s president and Montclair Town Councilman Peter Yacobellis.

“We need a pride festival in Montclair,” Yacobellis said. “The team and I have been discussing everything from a sound stage, to incorporation of the arts to food and beverage to resource booths. We see so much incredible synergy with existing organizations both in town and even nationally when you look at some of our advisory board members.”

“Montclair has a strong reputation for being a welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community,” Yacobellis continued. “But we felt that there should be a community organization that gives people a safe space where we and our allies can come together and celebrate who we are – one that can offer all types of activities and events to support and promote inclusivity and community. Imagine public educational programs, special outings for seniors, youth programming, recreational and other events.”

Out Montclair’s first event will be a panel discussion on gender and pronoun terminology, led by Montclair Councilor-At-Large Peter Yacobellis, Garden State Equality’s Jahmila Smith and Celeste Fiore of the Transgender Affirming Alliance.

The virtual event will take place at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27. Learn more here.

“Using inclusive language is one important way to show respect for trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people," said Smith, a project manager and trainer at Garden State Equality, which was formerly located in Montclair before it moved to Asbury Park.

“We hope this panel can serve as the first step to learning more about the trans community and what else residents, employers, educators and others can do to promote inclusion in Montclair,” Smith added.

In addition to Yacobellis, other members of the group include:

OFFICERS

• Reubena Spence (First Vice President), Montclair Civil Rights Commissioner & NJPAC Advisory Council
• Madeline Gale (Second Vice President), Montclair Civil Rights Commissioner & NJPAC Advisory Council
• Andrew Garda (Secretary), Journalist and Equality Advocate
• Peter Holm (Treasurer), Community Advocate || Organizer, Quiet Montclair

ADVISORY BOARD

• Eileen Birmingham, Community Volunteer
• Bill Courson, LGBT Senior Community Advocate
• Maya Deutsch, Transgender and Youth Community Advocate
• Celeste Fiore, President, Trans Affirming Alliance
• Jose German, CEO, Northeast Earth Coalition || Montclair Parks and Recreation Committee Member
• Paul Giordano, President, Upper Montclair Business Association
• Lori Gladstone, Social Media Leader and Community Volunteer
• Cathy Renna, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force || Principal, TargetCue
• Barbara Simon, Head of News and Campaigns, National Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

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