BELFAST — Within three months of moving back to her hometown in March 2015, MaKayla Reed and South Carolinian wife Rachel Epperly knew they wanted to bring bigger city LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) pride to the smaller towns of Waldo County.

After moving to Belfast’s Main Street, the duo noted that events held during the June LGBT Pride Month tend to take place mostly in larger cities.

Growing up LGBT in a small town without visible community support is something Reed was familiar with, and something both she and Epperly thought they could change.

“We wanted to provide a place in the community where people can celebrate their identity and be supported by the community,” Reed said.

The two created Belfast Has Pride as a way to fill the need for visible LGBT support in the community, and decided to introduce the group to area residents via parade and festival, held June 11, 2016.

“We knew we wanted [Belfast Has Pride] to be a community based effort with ongoing events, and thought the best way to get interested people together was to do something similar to a pride festival,” Epperly said.

Before the event could take place, Reed and Epperly had to go before the Belfast City Council to gain approval for the parade and festival, something unanimously granted. 

“It was never a matter of ‘are we going to put up a Pride flag,’ but where are we going to put it,” Reed said of the City Council meeting.

“There weren’t questions about the legitimacy of the group, but rather, how can we help,” she said.

Though community response to the group has been largely positive, Epperly notes that the existence of some vocal supporters does not mean there are not also detractors.

“There is a trend of Belfast being known as a really progressive, safe and supportive community, but that doesn’t necessarily get at the whole of Waldo County,” Epperly said.

For every loud and vocal supporter, Epperly estimates there are “just as many, if not more,” either harboring negative feelings, or failing to speak out when such viewpoints are voiced.

Area schools are one place where LGBT intolerance is far from rare. Reed noted that despite the formation of a Gay Straight Trans Alliance at local schools, the stories students tell about negative interactions are not all that different from the difficulties she experienced during her high school years.

“I think it’s important that we push back against the stereotype that everyone in Belfast has pride,” Epperly said, adding that increased community education is another goal of the group.

Beyond community education, Belfast Has Pride focuses much of its effort on ways to reach out to local LGBT youth.

Since the June 2016 parade, the group has worked with the Midcoast Clear Collective in their efforts to provide “Bug Out Bags,” filled with essentials to teens in counties including Knox, Sagadahoc, and Lincoln, among others.

The Collective had previously been unable to collect enough supplies to serve the Belfast area, with Belfast Has Pride aiming to cover Waldo County. The group has been able to provide backpacks stocked with supplies to a number of local teens in need.

Belfast Has Pride’s most recent event was a rally that took place in the park last month. It was an event staged to show solidarity with the community in light of “harsher” political times, Reed said. “Sort of in the spirit of resistance,” she added. 

Epperly and Reed also host a bimonthly game night at their downtown home as a way to bring the local LGBT community together.

The couple also opened their home to anyone in need this past Christmas, offering a place to enjoy the holiday festivities to those who might otherwise go without. Reed said they had a variety of people from “all parts of the county,” attend the event, which was announced on their Facebook page.

Another way Belfast Has Pride has reached out to the local LGBT youth is through the scholarship they founded, which will be awarded to two students at the 2017 Belfast Has Pride Festival. The participation of recipients is not mandatory, and the option for anonymity is available to those who may not be comfortable with the exposure, Reed said. 

The scholarship went unnamed until the recent passing of local LGBT activist Mitzi Lichtman, who was active in the community throughout her life.

“She really worked to create spaces for LGBT people when times were hard and there weren’t places to be yourself, and to be around other LGBT people,” Epperly said. 

“We thought the scholarship was a good way to honor her,” she added. 

It is now known as the Mitzi Lichtman Scholarship.

Of the teens the group works to support, Reed said, “I’m hoping [Belfast Has Pride] being out there and so visible can be a comfort to those who don’t feel comfortable being able to be themselves.”

Epperly, who says she didn’t come out until she was 18, said she is constantly impressed by area LGBT youth.

“There are so many who are so much younger and so sure of who they are, and so proud to come out to their community. I want to pass [Belfast Has Pride] down to them,” she said.

Until the June parade, festival, and scholarship presentation, Epperly encourages locals to lend their efforts to Belfast Has Pride.

“You don’t have to be LGBT to get involved with us; ally support is really important,” Epperly said. “We really need allies to help us along and help us change hearts and minds.”

For those interested in contacting, or learning more about the group, they can be reached via email, the Belfast Has Pride Facebook page, or the group’s website.

Correction: Activist Mitzi Lichtman’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this article. The mistake has been corrected to reflect the true spelling. 

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com