LGBTQ+ youth in the Montgomery community celebrated their true colors during an inaugural prom held during Pride Month recently.

The Kaleidoscope Pride Prom: Let Your True Colors Shine!, event was led by Valley Central Parents For Social Justice in collaboration with the NAACP, and members of the community. Event organizers then formed Orange County Pride Parent-Ally Coalition, with an intent to create a non-profit to bring more events and resources for area LGBTQAI+ youth, their allies and families.

The idea for the event came about last year when Lisa Ruiz saw the news reports about negative messages and legislation aimed at LGBTQ+ youth and families from states like Florida & Texas. She felt it was important to show the kids that there is a lot of support in the community. Ruiz also said she felt it was important to provide an event where queer youth could come as their authentic self and enjoy the company of their friends and allies, and hopefully make new ones.

She shared that the event being successful was a relief for event organizers.

According to Ruiz, “The idea for the event came to me around November of last year. As a cis, straight woman, it was important to me that before we moved forward I reached out to friends and folks from the LGBTQ+ community to get their input on whether this was as good and needed of an idea as I hoped it was, and the feedback was unanimous that we should without a doubt go for it.”

The prom included over 50 youth ranging from 6th grade to 12th grade. Requirements included that attendees still be attending school- either homeschool, traditional, or private school students.

Ruiz shared that planning the event was an act of love by all volunteers who wanted to make the night special for attendees. The location of the event was critical in making the event go off without a hitch. When event organizers started planning the event they started looking into queer friendly businesses and organizations with space to hold a small prom. One of the local community members involved was Dee Kelly, whose family owns the New Rose Theater & Hudson Valley Conservatory in Walden. Ruiz shared that Kelly reached out and offered/suggested that the event be held in her space.

“We were so excited because the New Rose Theater and Hudson Valley Conservatory are well known and loved by our community and youth, as many take classes there and are part of the many shows and theater events that happen throughout the year. It was a perfect fit,” said Ruiz.

Event organizers expressed appreciation for host and master of ceremonies Cookie Doe/Michael Vogt for their impact on the event. “In the early stages of planning, I wanted to make sure we had more than just allies, but also members of the LGBTQAI+ community on our committee to get their input and guidance. I reached out to Cookie Doe because I saw they did shows at the Silk Factory in Newburgh. It was truly one of the best things we did for this prom. Cookie Doe has a way about her that just makes people feel comfortable and well-just love her,” explained a grateful Ruiz. Ruiz and fellow event organizers were grateful for the support and time she showed the attendees. “Honestly no one else could have done what she did, and the kids loved her for it. She made sure there were no wallflowers or kids on the sidelines. She got them dancing and laughing and we took so many photos of them with her. It was really heart melting to witness,” she explained.

Event organizers and attendees are looking forward to making the prom an annual event. Ruiz said from the understanding of event organizers, the event was the first of its kind for the Town of Montgomery.

“Although we saw more youth and family friendly pride events in the area this year, there is a definite need for more events and support for LGBTQ+ families and youth in the area. We plan to make this an annual event, and also add on an adult pride prom to help cover costs for the youth prom so we can always keep it ideally free, or very low cost for the kids to attend in the future.”