a day ago
After controversy in 2024, town of Pineville to host first Pride celebration
Pineville will be hosting its first-ever Pride event Saturday, June 21.
Last year, local business owner Sara Longstreet was met with silence from the town council in response to her Pride event proposal and met with mayoral opposition to displaying Pride flags on Main Street. Now, Longstreet's Pride event is happening.
'Honestly I didn't think it was going to get approved,' Longstreet said in a phone interview Friday with The Charlotte Observer. 'I'm still sort of in shock that it's been approved and is actually happening next week.'
The free event, 'Pride Glow Party: Silent Disco,' will take place on the Pineville Town Hall lawn from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Guests are encouraged to wear neon and rainbow in support of the LGBTQ+ community and will receive wireless headphones playing their choice of dance, house, 90s, early 2000s and pop music.
All guests will be able to experience local food and drink vendors, face painting, an inflatable clubhouse, merchandise tent and photo booth.
Longstreet is the owner of Carolina Scoops Ice Cream and a leader in the small business community in downtown Pineville. She made her pitch to the town manager for approval, then the event was approved by a 3-1 vote at the May 13 town council meeting.
'It's important for the community because we do have a LQBTQ community in Pineville,' Longstreet said. 'We are small, but there is a community that needs to be supported.'
The mayor and four council members could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.
The proposal for a family-friendly Pride event and flag display did not make it to a vote last year. Longstreet said it seemed like there was internal miscommunication between the town council, mayor and town manager.
Longstreet credited her win this year to taking a different approach.
This year, she did not request the display of Pride flags on Main Street. She also sent her proposal to council members and said she had private conversations with most of them before the vote. She says she did this so they had time to think about her event and weren't blindsided at a meeting.
Longstreet says there have been no negative comments about the event on social media, and over 100 people have said they're attending so far.
'The biggest misperception is this isn't a political or religious event,' Longstreet said. 'That has nothing to do with Pride. Pride is about people and supporting the LGBTQ community in Pineville and beyond. Just creating a positive, loving environment where people can be who they want to be.'
Longstreet said the approval of the event has made her hopeful for the future, especially as a town council election approaches in November.
'It's events like this that get the young people involved and out in the community,' she said.
