Middletown Pride Announces Three Grand Marshals for the Sixth Annual Middletown PrideFEST
Middletown Pride is thrilled to announce that the three grand marshals for PrideFEST 2024 will be Tony Ferraiolo, Shanay Fulton, and Ethel De Luxe.
Each year, Middletown’s LGBTQIA+ Commission nominates grand marshals based on the tremendous work that they do to empower and support our local and statewide LGBTQIA2S+ community. The position of grand marshal allows Middletown Pride to provide a platform to highlight these individuals’ dedication and hard work, and to feature the incredible impact they have had on our community.
We are beyond excited to have Tony, Shanay, and Ethel featured as the grand marshals for this year’s PrideFEST,” says Christopher Forte, founder and lead organizer of Middletown Pride. “All of them are well-known as leaders in the community. It is an honor to shine a spotlight on them this year.”
“I consider this such an honor to have been chosen as one of the grand marshals. I am humbled that I have this platform to spread the hope of a better future to LGBTQ+ youth by modeling love, kindness and acceptance,” said Tony Ferraiolo, one of the grand marshals of PrideFEST 2024. Ferraiolo is the Director of Health Care Advocates International’s Youth and Family Program whose mission is to provide a safe place for LGBTQ+ youth and their families to be supported and emphasizes that love, kindness, and diversity can empower youth to walk their truth and authentically live the lives they truly deserve. Ferraiolo is also known as a compassionate and empowering Life Coach and a motivating and thought-provoking trainer.
For grand marshal Ethel De Luxe, “serving as grand marshal means being there to support the community. It is being a figure that people can look up to, be inspired by, and feel seen. Being grand marshal is such an honor, and I could not be more excited for everything that’s to come while serving the title.” Ethel is an American Sign Language interpreter providing services from Maine to Washington D.C. and everywhere in between. Ethel De Luxe is a Queer Transfemme individual always determined to support everyone in whatever way possible. Ethel is a drag artist, a philanthropist, a homemaker, and a small business owner.
“I am honored and humbled to be chosen to serve as Grand Marshal. This title means highlighting inclusion and being able to make an impact. It means, spreading love and uplifting the voices of so many who are often marginalized for who they love,” remarked Shanay Fulton. Grand Marshal Shanay Fulton has a long list of accolades including extensive years of advocacy in child welfare, domestic violence issues, housing, transportation, workforce development, business development, and education at both the local and state levels stemming from her personal lived experiences. She is a former Youth Director for the North End Action Team in Middletown, where she worked closely with LGBTQ youth. She is currently an advisory board member for the New Horizons Domestic Violence Shelter, the Middlesex Habitat For Humanity, Open Communities Alliance in Hartford and the Vice-President of the Russell Public Library where she has served since 2018.
Again this year, Middletown Pride will award each grand marshal with a $1,000 donation to their charity or non-profit of choice. We at Middletown Pride believe strongly in giving back to our community, and these donations allow us to take our support of our grand marshals’ work one-step further by contributing to their efforts.
Ferraiolo has chosen to support TV-365. TV-365 is a ministry that dedicates themselves to providing basic human needs for transgender individuals, showing up for them when they have nowhere else to turn. “For the past few years through my position at Health Care Advocates International, I have partnered with Trans Voice and Visibility-365, and I know that every dollar donated will be a dollar well spent.
De Luxe has chosen to support Q+, a LGBTQIA2S+ youth organization that does work all over the state. When asked why De Luxe was choosing to support Q+ this year, they stated “Q Plus makes so many strides and efforts to fill the gaps in queer youth programming and has come so far since its beginning not too long ago; and, without doubt, will continue to do so. With this donation I am certain Q Plus will be able to keep providing exemplary programs for our queer youth. Our youth is our tomorrow, and we need to make sure we set them up for success and allow them to flourish and grow in every way possible.”
Fulton is supporting Middletown Works!, a Working Cities Initiative that focuses on economic development for BIPOC single parents. When asked why Fulton is supporting this organization, she stated “the donation will support the financial needs of the single parents in our community.”
This year, Middletown PrideFEST will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024, kicking off at RJ Julia on Main Street at 11:30 am with a Drag Artist Story Time, followed by a festival that starts at noon and runs until 10 p.m. PrideFEST is an all afternoon, family friendly street festival on Main Street, Middletown that combines exhibitors, entertainers, food, activities for all ages, including a 21+ area, and includes the Middletown Pride March (1 – 2 p.m.), Pride Rally on the South Green (2:30 – 4 p.m.), and two Pride Showcase Concerts (4 – 7 p.m.)! Following the Pride Showcase Concerts, join us for our Tea Dance at PrideFEST from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Old Church Street, hosted by Jerry’s Pizza. Further details will be released closer to the date of the event.
Individuals or groups interested in registering to march, sponsor, or volunteer at Middletown PrideFEST can click here for more information. Middletown Pride is predominantly community funded, and 100% of the proceeds we raise go directly into sustaining our efforts, including hosting monthly community events, providing education and training about the LGBTQIA2S+ community, creating grant programs to support local youth organizations, supporting Connecticut’s pride centers, creating scholarship programs for Middletown’s youth, and supports countless other LGBTQIA2S+ artists, performers, and organizations.
Middletown Pride is organized by a partnership between the City of Middletown, Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, Wesleyan University, the Russell Library, and Middlesex Health. Any questions or concerns can be directed to Haley Stafford at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce at 860-347-6924 or [email protected].
Share your Middletown experience with us by using #findingconnecticut on Instagram
Click here for the latest news in Middletown
Click here for the upcoming events in Middletown
Click here for the latest news in Middlesex County
Click here for the upcoming events in Middlesex County
Connecticut with us!
Get our news straight into your inbox daily
Stay connected with us on social media Facebook • Instagram • Threads • Tiktok Join our Reddit community
Share your Connecticut experiences with us by using #findingconnecticut on Instagram
Click here to return to Finding Connecticut’s home page
Looking for the latest news by region, topic and events
Latest news by region
Fairfield County • Hartford County • Litchfield County • Middlesex County • New Haven County • New London County• Tolland County • Windham County
Latest sports news by team
Hartford Wolf Pack • Hartford Yard Goats • Connecticut Sun • Norwich Sea Unicorns • Traveler Championship
2024 schedules
Hartford Wolf Pack • Hartford Yard Goats • Connecticut Sun • Norwich Sea Unicorns
Events my region
Fairfield County • Hartford County • Litchfield County • New Haven County • New London County • Middlesex County •Tolland County • Windham County
Events by interest
Art • Sports • Family Friendly • History • Concerts • Farmers’ Markets
Events by the month
January 2024 • February 2024 • March 2024 • April 2024 • May 2024 • June 2024 • July 2024 • August 2024• September 2024 • October 2024 • November 2024 • December 2024
Events by venue
College Street Music Hall • Space Ballroom • Westville Music Bowl • Wall Street Theater • Hartford Stage•The Bushnell • Goodspeed Opera House • Mohegan Sun