Pride, perseverance, and prosperity in Salem

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Salem’s transformation from persecution to pride reached new heights as over 30,000 people flooded the historic streets on June 28, 2025, for the North Shore Pride Festival. What began as Dr. Hope Watt-Bucci’s response to witnessing discrimination in 2012—expecting maybe 100 supporters—has exploded into one of Massachusetts’ most vibrant celebrations of LGBTQ+ identity, creativity, and community. The festival, masterfully organized by North Shore Pride, demonstrates how a city once synonymous with intolerance has become a beacon of acceptance, where creative entrepreneurs thrive, historical parallels inspire healing, and rainbow crosswalks permanently mark streets that once witnessed trials of the marginalized.

North Shore Pride leads transformative celebration

North Shore Pride, the non-profit organization behind this remarkable event, has cultivated something extraordinary since its founding in 2012. Dr. Hope Watt-Bucci, a Salem State University graduate and U.S. Army veteran, started the organization after witnessing an older gay couple face discrimination in a local restaurant. Her vision has grown from that moment of injustice into a movement serving the entire North Shore region—from Salem to Lynn, Beverly to Gloucester.

The 2025 festival showcased North Shore Pride’s comprehensive approach to community building. The parade kicked off at noon from Shetland Park, winding through downtown Salem’s historic streets before culminating at Salem Common with a progress flag raising. The festival itself ran from 11 AM to 4 PM, featuring main stage entertainment, over 85 vendor booths (with a waitlist for hopeful participants), food trucks, and community services. Special events included an official after-party at Bit Bar Salem, a youth celebration at NAGLY Center for ages 11-23, and the 6th Annual Drag Brunch at The Derby on Sunday.

The organization’s year-round programming extends far beyond the annual festival. Monthly community forums tackle crucial topics from violence against the transgender community to intergenerational Pride perspectives. Their educational initiatives, advocacy work, and partnerships with organizations like NAGLY and The Boston Foundation’s Equality Fund demonstrate how North Shore Pride serves as both a celebration organizer and a continuous community advocate.

Salem’s journey mirrors LGBTQ+ liberation

Salem’s evolution presents a compelling narrative of transformation that resonates deeply with the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals. The city that conducted the deadliest witch hunt in American history now earns perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign Equality Index. This isn’t coincidental—Salem has consciously woven connections between historical persecution and contemporary acceptance throughout its LGBTQ+ programming.

The Salem Witch Museum features exhibits explicitly linking the 1692 trials to modern persecution, including LGBTQ+ discrimination during the AIDS epidemic. Academic researchers note striking parallels between the scapegoating of accused witches and contemporary LGBTQ+ marginalization. Both groups faced persecution as “others,” subjected to unfounded accusations and mass hysteria. The museum presents a formula for understanding witch hunt patterns that apply directly to 20th and 21st-century LGBTQ+ experiences.

This historical consciousness infuses Salem’s Pride celebrations with unique depth. During parades, participants shout, “Make persecution a thing of the past,” directly connecting 1692 to 2025. The Salem Rainbow Stroll offers tours uncovering hidden LGBTQ+ history while exploring themes of otherness and acceptance. Local businesses embrace this narrative—the Salem Witch Museum displays rainbow banners and sells “Ride with Pride” shirts featuring the iconic Salem witch trailing rainbow colors.

Creative economy flourishes through Pride

The festival has given rise to what local drag queen Miz Diamond Wigfall calls a “tiny Queer economy” in Salem. The “Hometown Queeros” collective, including performers such as Wigfall, Maxine Harrison, Buster Pants, and Miss Michael, has transformed Salem into a year-round destination for drag entertainment. These artists don’t just perform during Pride; they maintain regular shows at venues like BitBar’s “Fierce Fridays” and Gulu-Gulu Café’s weekly Sunday drag brunches.

Local LGBTQ+-owned businesses have flourished in this environment. HausWitch Home + Healing, founded by Erica Feldmann and her wife Melissa Nierman, exemplifies the intersection of Salem’s witch identity and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship. The “hipster metaphysical lifestyle store” explicitly welcomes “womxn, the LGBTQ+ community, POC, and anyone who feels like they need a truly supportive and safe environment.” Other thriving businesses include Circle of Stitches (a yarn and witchy boutique) and Whimsy’s (offering Ice Cream and magical treats).

The economic impact extends throughout Salem’s creative sector. Vendors report Pride as their most profitable day of the year, with over 85 booths selling out and creating a waitlist for 2025. Local photographers, DJs, and entertainers find substantial work opportunities. Hotels offer Pride discounts, restaurants create themed menus, and tourism officials note the festival’s crucial role in kickstarting summer visitation.

Salem 400 amplifies inclusion commitment

Looking ahead to 2026, Salem’s quadricentennial celebration promises to further embed LGBTQ+ inclusion in the city’s narrative. The Salem 400+ commemoration explicitly acknowledges over 10,000 years of Indigenous presence before European colonization in 1626, demonstrating a commitment to telling complete and inclusive histories.

The Salem 400 PLUS Task Force includes specific diversity mandates across “age, ability, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, religion, and socioeconomic status.” This $26 million initiative includes signature park improvements, heritage celebrations, and year-long programming designed to ensure Salem’s future represents all community members. The connection between Pride celebrations and Salem 400 planning demonstrates how LGBTQ+ inclusion has become an integral part of Salem’s civic identity.

Community healing through celebration

Research consistently demonstrates the profound impact of Pride festivals on mental health and community wellbeing. LGBTQ+ individuals experience mental health challenges at twice the rate of the general population, making Pride’s role as a “community healing” space crucial. Participants describe North Shore Pride as providing hope, solidarity, and affirmation—an antidote to discrimination and isolation.

The festival’s impact ripples throughout the year. NAGLY, operating from Salem’s Witch City Mall since 1992, runs one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ youth centers. Their services include counseling, support groups, educational programs, and “The Boutique”—a gender-affirming clothing space. The organization’s partnership with North Shore Pride extends the festival’s impact through year-round youth programming.

Faith communities participate enthusiastically, with interfaith services and progressive congregations marching in the parade. Local schools send Girl Scout troops, businesses display Pride flags year-round, and city officials from Mayor Dominick Pangallo to Senator Elizabeth Warren demonstrate visible support. This broad coalition transforms Pride from a niche event to a community-wide celebration.

Economic engine drives creative prosperity

While specific North Shore Pride economic data remains limited, comparable festivals demonstrate significant impact. Pride events typically generate $15-75 million in economic activity, support hundreds of jobs, and drive tourism revenue. With over 30,000 attendees, North Shore Pride is likely to contribute millions to Salem’s economy, particularly significant given its late June timing, just before the peak tourist season.

The global LGBTQ+ tourism market, valued at $318 billion and growing at a 7.9% annual rate, positions Salem advantageously. The city markets itself alongside Provincetown as Massachusetts’ premier LGBTQ+-friendly destination. This reputation attracts not just Pride attendees but year-round LGBTQ+ visitors drawn to Salem’s unique blend of historical significance and contemporary acceptance.

For creative professionals, Pride represents a crucial source of income. Drag performers command premium bookings, artists sell directly to supportive audiences, and photographers capture chosen family portraits against Salem’s atmospheric backdrops. The festival has helped establish infrastructure that supports year-round growth in the creative economy, from regular drag shows to LGBTQ+-owned business networks.

Distinctive celebration rooted in history

Salem’s Pride stands apart through its conscious integration of historical persecution narratives with contemporary liberation themes. No other Pride celebration occurs against such a historically charged backdrop, where sites of 17th-century persecution host 21st-century celebrations. This creates unique programming opportunities—witch-themed Pride merchandise, magical tours with LGBTQ+ guides, and events at historic venues like Old Town Hall.

The city has transformed a potential historical burden into a contemporary strength. Rainbow crosswalks mark a permanent LGBTQ+ presence in the historic district. The Salem Common, witness to centuries of civic life, hosts joyful Pride festivities. Local businesses embrace both identities, creating products and experiences that celebrate the intersection of Salem’s witch heritage and LGBTQ+ pride.

This approach resonates powerfully with visitors and residents who recognize both witches and LGBTQ+ individuals as historically marginalized groups that find empowerment through visibility. Salem doesn’t hide from its past but uses it to illuminate paths toward justice and inclusion.

Building the next 400 years

North Shore Pride’s 2025 festival represents more than a single day’s celebration—it embodies Salem’s evolution from a site of persecution to a beacon of acceptance. Under the leadership of North Shore Pride, with founder Dr. Hope Watt-Bucci’s vision guiding the way, the festival has grown from 100 expected attendees to over 30,000 participants, transforming Salem’s creative economy and community culture in the process.

The festival’s success demonstrates how communities can acknowledge complex histories while building inclusive futures. By explicitly connecting witch trial persecution to contemporary LGBTQ+ experiences, Salem creates space for healing and transformation. The robust creative economy emerging from Pride—from the Hometown Queeros collective to LGBTQ+-owned businesses throughout downtown—shows how acceptance drives prosperity.

As Salem prepares for its 400th anniversary in 2026, North Shore Pride has helped establish inclusion as a core value of the city. The festival brings together faith communities, businesses, artists, families, and allies in a demonstration that Salem has truly transformed from a place of trials to a place of triumph. Through North Shore Pride’s masterful organization and the community’s enthusiastic embrace, Salem proves that cities can transcend their darkest chapters to become lights of hope, creativity, and love for all.