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Greater Bridgeport Pride Features Top Stars
RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Loosey LaDuca and Pose actor Indya Moore are joining Greater Bridgeport Pride on June 21 to celebrate 15 years of Pride in the Park City. Loosey is this year’s headline performer, and Moore will serve as the festival’s keynote speaker, at GBP’s Unity in the Park centerpiece event at Wheeler Park, happening 3-8 p.m.
Loosey LaDuca competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 and is known for theatrical lip syncs and her viral hit song “Let Loose,” plus her impersonations of Dolly Parton and Joan Rivers. A native of Ansonia, Loosey was among the first Drag Race contestants from Connecticut. “It’s such an honor to have a Connecticut She-ro, Loosey LaDuca, as our headlining performer at Unity in the Park this year,” said Jason A. Coombs, Greater Bridgeport Pride co-chair and a board member of GBP’s presenting organization, the Bridgeport Pride Center. “Loosey is not only such a dynamic, engaging and divine performer, but also a wonderful and kind human being who uplifts the community!”
Indya Moore (they/them and she/her) is an actor, writer, director, model and social activist. After their breakout role as Angel on the groundbreaking FX series Pose, Moore was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2019 and became the first transgender person to be featured on the cover of Elle magazine’s U.S. edition. Moore is appearing in the indie thriller Ponyboi, which premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance Film Festival 2024 and arrives in theaters June 27.
Coombs: “To have someone as inspiring, brave and passionate about social justice as Indya Moore as our speaker headliner at our Unity in the Park event is iconic and truly a gift to the Greater Bridgeport Community. I’m so excited to hear her words resonate through Bridgeport and inspire all of us to continue the fight for equality and inclusion for all members of our community and the global majority!”
The Unity in the Park event also will feature two hosts for the first time in its history: Drag Race season 10 contestant Yuhua Hamasaki, and drag queen Xiomarie LaBeija, a Bridgeport native. Yuhua was a headline performer at last year’s Greater Bridgeport Pride and has appeared on numerous programs, including Saturday Night Live with Katy Perry. She has won multiple pageant titles, including Miss Fire Island, Miss Stonewall and Miss Asia NYC. Xiomarie, known as Connecticut’s plus-sized dancing diva, has hosted the two previous Unity in the Park events. She is the state’s chapter mother of the legendary House of LaBeija drag family and an organizer of New Haven Black Pride, happening June 14.
More event speakers and performers, plus the march’s grand marshals, will be announced in the lead-up to the big day June 21.
GREATER BRIDGEPORT PRIDE 2025 SCHEDULE
12-6 p.m. OUTwork art show (City Lights Gallery)
2-3 p.m. Pride March (1 p.m. lineup on Broad Street steps)
3-8 p.m. Unity in the Park (Wheeler Park)
10 p.m. Queer Dance Party (Trevi Lounge, Fairfield)
Greater Bridgeport Pride, presented by the nonprofit Bridgeport Pride Center, returns as a single day of activities on June 21. The festival’s hallmark Pride March will officially kick off the day’s events at 2 p.m. Marchers will begin lining up at 1 p.m. at the painted steps at Broad and Elm streets, travel through downtown Bridgeport and finish at Wheeler Park.
Unity in the Park begins at 3 p.m. in Wheeler Park, at the corner of Golden Hill Street and Lafayette Square. The free event will include about 40 local vendors, food trucks, community and health services providers, games, and performances. Bar service, provided by Trevi Lounge, will be available for guests ages 21 and older with valid ID.
VIP tickets (21+ only) are available starting at $50 and include priority seating near the stage, a goodie bag, and VIP-only bar service. Higher tiers also feature a meet-and-greet with headline performer Loosey LaDuca. The VIP tickets can be found on Eventbrite.
City Lights Gallery, the longtime former operator of Greater Bridgeport Pride, remains at the heart of the festival. The gallery’s signature art exhibit OUTwork, which became the first-ever LGBTQ+ art exhibit in Fairfield County in 2010, will debut its 2025 edition during GBP. OUTwork explores gender, queer life, love and relationships, social justice, personal stories, and more. The gallery will be open 12-6 p.m. at 265 Golden Hill St.
Greater Bridgeport Pride 2025 will conclude with a thrilling After Party at Trevi Lounge, located at 548 Kings Hwy Cutoff in neighboring Fairfield. This DJ dance party will begin in earnest at 10 p.m. with a featured performance from artist and GBP founder Ricky Mestre.
In addition to a dazzling array of events, Greater Bridgeport Pride unveiled its first-ever theme: I AM. “I AM reclaims space for our voices, stories, and existence, reinforcing that we are here, we are valid, and we are proud,” said GBP co-chair Stephanie Saujon. A public campaign with the I AM theme launched in early April.
For direct updates and information about Greater Bridgeport Pride, follow
@bridgeport_pride and @bridgeportpridecenter on Instagram or visit www.BridgeportPrideCenter.org. Interested in volunteering, vending, performing, marching, or other involvement with Greater Bridgeport Pride? Visit GBP’s Linktree at linktr.ee/BptPride for various sign-up sheets and contact forms, or visit Bridgeport Pride Center at its physical location in downtown Bridgeport at 116 Elm Street.
ABOUT GREATER BRIDGEPORT PRIDE
A community-based event celebrating diversity and inclusivity, Greater Bridgeport Pride seeks to raise awareness of the vibrant local LGBTQ+ community, offer a platform for creative expression, and connect the community to work opportunities for queer creatives. Greater Bridgeport Pride began in 2010 when artist Ricky Mestre approached City Lights Gallery to host the first-ever LGBTQ+ art exhibit in Fairfield County. Now organized under the Bridgeport Pride Center, GBP maintains a diverse and dedicated steering committee of LGBTQ+ artists, professionals and community advocates involved in the greater Bridgeport area and Fairfield County.
GBP believes in communities that embrace everyone, regardless of whom they love or how they identify. Through education, events and support, GBP strives to build understanding, acceptance, and a sense of belonging. Our goal is to create a future where every person can be proud of who they are and live without fear or discrimination. GBP’s planning committee received the Futures Award at the 2024 Connecticut Voice Honors.
