Back in 1975, when the song “Love Will Keep Us Together” was No. 1 on the pop charts, the very first Gay Pride occurred here in Worcester. It was about five years after Boston had celebrated its first Gay Pride event.

Over the years, the locations have changed and the size of the celebration has waxed and waned. But today, LGBTQ people are in a much better place and this year is projected to be the biggest celebration that anyone can recall!

For those who are unfamiliar with the letters, L stands for Lesbian. Originally, Gay (the G) was used as a universal term, but it was later acknowledged that it did not quite cover everyone. B is bisexual, and this is the most maligned of the letters, since, when people are finding their letter in life, they often claim this latter as the more acceptable term.  In reality, the B stands for someone who is equally attracted to males and females. The Kinsey Scale tells us that we are all on a spectrum of sexuality, and that is now the conventional wisdom. T is transgender. Although it is not a sexual orientation, we have banded together in the common fight for acceptance and equal rights. I hold that a person’s gender is self-determined, not assigned at birth or defined by stereotypes. Finally, the Q. Most often it is used for Queer, but it can be used as Questioning (occasionally I have seen Q²). This is becoming the universal term for people who do not feel comfortable with being heterosexual, no matter who they choose as a partner. The word “queer” makes people uncomfortable since it is a “reclaimed” word. Once a vile word, it was reclaimed in the early ’90s and applied to academics and art theory – Queer Theory referred to LGBT studies.

This column is called Out and About as a way to focus on LGBTQ topics and events in our community.

There are a few regularly occurring LGBTQ events/nights throughout the city for all ages. For the 21-plus crowd, the most consistent event over the past couple of years is the AirSpray Queer Dance Party. For the senior citizens and volunteers, there is the Rainbow Lunch Club. Sponsored by Elder Services of Worcester and the Unitarian Church of Worcester, the lunch club was founded in 2012 by a good friend, Ben Labonte, and others.  Then, for the teens, there is Safe Homes, which is a LGBTQ-plus drop-in center for the Worcester region. I am on the advisory board of Safe Homes and volunteer there. I am amazed that every Thursday night, there are 50-75 teens that show up for structured activities and social time.  There is also PFLAG, which is a support group for parents and families of LGBTQ people. In addition, there is the Breakfast with Friends Club that meets every other Sunday for brunch.  Worcester Pride also tries to have one or more events a month, in addition to the citywide celebration that occurs Sept. 12 this year.

It is worth noting that although Pride is celebrated nationally in July, it makes sense for Worcester to celebrate in the fall, so our vast array of colleges and schools are able to participate in a way that they could not if Pride were held over the summer. This past month, there was the Smile performance of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus to help Pride kick off its 40^th year. This year, Pride has partnered with the Canal District to have one of the biggest block parties ever after the festival. We also host the Worcester Pride Pageant, where we have the Miss Gay Worcester Pageant (The Drag Show of the Year), Ms. Worcester Pride and Mr. Worcester Pride.

John Trobaugh is the president of Worcester Pride and a diversity project specialist in the Diversity and Inclusion Office of UMass Medical School. For more information, visit worcesterpride.org.