June may be over but Delaware is still celebrating Pride. Rehoboth Beach is hosting its annual Pride celebration weekend from July 18-21.
The celebration has everything you might expect from a Pride weekend — from dance parties to drag, the four-day celebration of LGBTQ identity has something for everyone.
Sussex Pride, the organization behind Rehoboth Beach Pride, is celebrating its second year of organizing the events. Its mission is to “celebrate, strengthen, and support the LGBTQ+ community in Sussex County and the state of Delaware, working through a social justice lens.” This includes sponsoring events to help members of the LGBTQ community find resources, providing a platform for discussions about the future of LGBTQ rights, and hosting events like Rehoboth Beach Pride.
The Blade sat down with David Mariner, the executive director of Sussex Pride, to discuss the weekend’s events and why celebrating Pride — as well as fighting for LGBTQ rights — is still needed in 2024. “LGBTQ+ equality is very much a focus of Sussex Pride,” Mariner said. “We know here in the state of Delaware, LGBTQ folks are more likely to be living in poverty and less likely to have health insurance, for example, than non-LGBTQ folks.