'Believe In Love' At The 3rd Annual Toms River Pride Festival

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Break out your rainbow shirts and hats: the third-annual Toms River Pride Festival will be back in Toms River, as part of Pride Month celebrations.

The festival's theme is "Believe in Love" and is set for June 13 on Washington Street between Main Street and Hooper Avenue. It is organized and hosted by Exit 82 Theatre Company.

The festival celebrates the Jersey Shore’s growing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/ally, two-spirit, plus (LGBTQIA2S+) community, and will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., organizers said.

The program will begin with the announcement of the inaugural Pride Advocate Award that, through a public nomination process, acknowledges New Jersey’s most impactful LGBTQ+ advocates and allies in the community.

Throughout the day, the event will feature live entertainment and drag shows, family-friendly activities, partner activations, educational resources, and promotions by local businesses and restaurants Downtown and across the county. Supporters are encouraged to participate in a Pride Month Visibility Campaign by displaying rainbow colors at home and on businesses, vehicles, boats and outfits for the month of June.

On the evening before Pride, June 12, Exit 82 Theatre is scheduled to host a drag show fundraiser.

"As an Ocean County LGBTQ+ safe space, we’re proud that Toms River Pride has been embraced as a new, inclusive tradition in which all can partake," said Billy Cardone and Keely Davenport, the founders of Exit 82 Theatre Company and the festival organizers.

"With the privilege to celebrate comes a reminder that there is still work to be done to make our society more inclusive, like ensuring our transgender and POC brethren are protected and valued," they said.

Exit 82 Theatre has hosted Toms River Pride since 2019, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

The tentative schedule for June 13:

• 11 a.m. Opening Ceremony
• 11:30 a.m. Festival Opens
• 4 p.m. Drag Shows
• 5 p.m. Festival Closes

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