The very first Malden Pride Festival was organized in 2020 by members of the First Parish in Malden Unitarian Universalist Congregation. After planning for an in-person festival in the fall of 2019, this group refused to let a global pandemic destroy their dreams. Two of that first group of organizers would become the founding members of the Malden Pride Coalition.

After pivoting to an online Pride Conference, we never could have envisioned how Malden Pride Coalition would grow and evolve over time. We grew from a fully online event to our first in person event in 2021, a Pride Picnic in Coytemore Lea Park. It was a laid back affair, with local speakers and a wonderful DJ set. Because of the proximity to public transit, mostly flat layout of the park, and easy access to electrical outlets, Coytemore Lea became our permanent location for Pride in the Park. We further expanded to partner with the City of Malden’s DEI department to plan for 2022, inviting tabling organizations, free food, and a more robust list of speakers.

Starting in 2023, our core organizing team grew to five and we began operations as Malden Pride Coalition. We also made the invaluable decision to start working with our fiscal sponsor, The Nonprofit Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives (NOPI). Fiscal Sponsorship allowed us to invest more of our time and resources into building out the Pride Festival. It also allowed us to pursue grant funding from the Mass Cultural Council, which enabled us to invest in Language Interpreters and ASL interpreters for the speaker program. We were able to offer an increased stipend to our speaker and performers, plan a wildly successful Drag Brunch fundraiser, and organize a vigil for trans lives.

None of this would be possible without the wonderful support of the Malden Community. We are so grateful to be organizing in this vibrant city, with people so excited to build a more inclusive, resilient place to call home.

Our Mission

The Malden Pride Coalition is a non-profit organization that seeks to engage with and support the LGBTQIA2S+ community in Malden, MA.

We are committed to upholding our queer and trans siblings through public events, educational outreach, and queer-to-queer aid. We are especially committed to uplifting trans and queer youth. We seek partnerships with organizations supporting these goals.

Additionally, we recognize that identity is intersectional. We affirm our solidarity with communities of color, people of all religions, abilities, economic status, citizenship status, culture of origin, and other communities harmed by structural inequalities.

We also affirm the dignity of all people and their right to safety, bodily autonomy, and liberation from systems of oppression.

Our vision is to amplify and celebrate the vibrant queer community in Malden by ardently advocating for social change to improve the lives of LGBTQIA2S+ people and create affirming spaces.