Brew pub to host second annual Pride Festival

By JASon klAiBER staFF Writer

The Seneca Street Brew Pub is hosting its yearly Pride Festival on Saturday, June 17, both inside and in the parking lot of the brewery at 315 E. Seneca St. in Manlius from noon to 6 p.m. Back for its second year, the pub’s production manager Heidi Menikheim says the festival will be “bigger and better,” partly because of a greater amount of volunteers this time and a newly formed planning committee.

There will be an Enchanted Aesthetics face painting station until 4 p.m., a balloon art and magic show by Twin Magicians lasting from 1 to 3 p.m., and a dunk tank as well as a Right Mind Syracuse tent where people can purchase tickets to create splatter art. The lineup of local musicians performing live will be Mary Nickson at 1 p.m., Jade Miori at 2 p.m., Honey for the Bees at 3 p.m., Jo Corso at 4 p.m. and Charlie Wittman at 5 p.m. For food and drink, there will be Petit Nosh

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There will also be a long list of vendors with handmade and vintage items as well as an art raffle and booths with resources from the Fayetteville Free Library and Manlius Library, the Town of Manlius Police Department, and the Q Center at ACR Health. Other sponsors will be Manlius Democrats, Wild Violet Made and Green Lakes Dental.

The day of activities raises money to benefit The Trevor Project and CNY Pride. With a focus on suicide prevention, The Trevor Project provides 24/7 toll-free and confidential crisis support for youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.

Heidi’s wife, Brooke, who is the brewer for the Seneca Street Brew Pub, said The Trevor Project

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“There is help out there and it can get better,” Brooke said. “It helps to see that other people have been through it, and that can inspire you to make that phone call for yourself. There are people who can objectively listen to how you’re truly feeling and truly want you to feel better.”

CNY Pride is a volunteer-run organization which organizes events in the Syracuse area to encourage, empower, and celebrate the LGBTQ community and their friends, families, and supporters.

“Our goal here at Seneca Street is to provide a safe place for everybody where everyone can be accepted,” Heidi said. “We also want Manlius to be more visible in the LGBT community. A lot of the community feels alone, so our goal is to make them not feel that way and to feel safe.”

More information about the upcoming festival can be found on the Seneca Street Brew Pub’s Facebook page.