Scottdale Pride expands for year 2, aims to launch nonprofit

Until last year, there was no such thing as an LGBTQ Pride event in Scottdale.

Now, the Scottdale Pride committee is looking not only to expand the second annual event, but also the group behind it.

Stephen Elcock said he and the other committee members seek to launch an official Scottdale Pride nonprofit for their hometown in the coming months.

With more hands and resources on deck, Elcock, 25, of Mt. Pleasant said the committee would be able to do more than just one Pride event per year.

“We’re trying to gather people that are passionate and engaged in our community,” Elcock said. “As it stands, there’s three of us, and one lives in Philly. So it makes it difficult to really do a lot.”

Committee member Heather Schafer said “passionate people” and increased funding would kickstart the nonprofit.

“(The nonprofit) is going to have to be more than just Pride, which would be great,” said Schafer, 28, of Philadelphia. “We need to do events all the time and really do the advocacy piece.”

The committee hopes to become a nonprofit in three to six months, Elcock said.

Committee member Mackenzie Eicher said last year’s Pride has the group excited to continue growing in 2022.

“Last year went way better than I expected. I remember when Stephen and I were planning it, we were just like, ‘Oh, we’ll go to Loucks Park, and if 10 people show up, it’ll be worth us splitting $75 to book it,’ ” said Eicher, 24, of Mt. Pleasant. “We ended up with almost 300 people, the lieutenant governor, all these donations — it was a huge success.”

With more than 200 people having expressed interest in attending Scottdale Pride via a Facebook event page, the committee expects a similar, if not greater, attendance this year.

Although many elements of this year’s Pride will be similar to the first, Elcock said the additional time the group had to plan the event allowed for a more developed program. He said almost all of the vendors from last year agreed to return, and even more new ones have reached out asking to be a part of the event.

Between the vendors, performances and booths, Elcock said Scottdale Pride will have “something for everyone,” and the primary goal is to celebrate, educate and advocate.

“As we are there — as we stand, hopefully for many years to come — we are advocating on behalf of our community that we will be here and we will do what we want to do,” Elcock said. “Ideally, we want… to be an inclusive environment for the Scottdale-Mt. Pleasant region that’s really never been there before.”

Following all of the positive feedback the committee received after the first Pride, Eicher said she knows Scottdale “can be that safe and welcoming place” for the LGBTQ community.

“It’s not fair for those that don’t have the opportunity to leave. Just because you don’t have the means to get out of here doesn’t mean you should suffer the consequences of that,” Eicher said. “Small town does not have to mean small-minded.”

Similarly, Schafer said it is “healing” to see Pride come to her hometown — something she never expected growing up.

“I talked to a lot of people who are part of the LGBTQ community who used to live here and moved… and all of them were just so excited about this,” she said. “I think, for a lot of us, it’s been such a healing experience to feel connected again and feel more included where you grew up.”