My name is Heath Pecoraro also known as The Sweetest Heath Barr. I am a transgender man, a drag king from the Haus of Extreme, and I am a queer-affirming therapist. Through my drag, I strive to represent queer transmasculine joy and experience. Community is incredibly important to me, has changed my life and helped make it beautiful. I have dedicated much of my life to creating opportunities for queer joy and resilience. One of my roles as a therapist is to assist folks in getting gender-affirming surgery. This year I have had the opportunity to get my top surgery due to the local queer community coming together to fundraise for my surgery through a series of drag shows and GoFundMe. In a time where our community has experienced so many narratives of tragedy and loss, I am grateful to be a living example of that when we come together as a community we can thrive.

I'm so honored to be nominated for Grand Marshal! Since moving to New Paltz in 2021, I've had so much fun learning about and participating in the queer scene here. As a member of the Executive Board of the New Paltz Drag Collective for the past two years, I've had the honor of helping to create fun, accessible, affirming spaces for members of the SUNY New Paltz community who have a passion for the art of drag. I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to explore their identity and expression with support and without judgment. The queer community in this town has given me the gift of space and support to grow, perform, and get to know myself in ways that I cannot express enough gratitude for, and I aspire to pay it forward and be a beacon of community and inclusion for all LGBTQ+ people in New Paltz.

-Diana Dysentery

Stephan Hengst 

Big Gay Hudson Valley is proud to have been building our Queer community since 2008, and I am proud to be recognized for our efforts with a nomination to serve our community as a Grand Marshal for the 2024 New Paltz Pride Celebration. My husband, Patrick Decker, and myself founded BGHV because we believe that a community’s success is the sum of its parts. We/ve always work diligently to create experiences & promote resources that empower people to make new connections, explore the Hudson Valley & live as their authentic LGBTQ+ selves.

Thank you so much for the opportunity!

-Stephan

I’m Romeo Lips; local drag queen, notorious transmasculine, and honored Grand Marshal nominee! I feel the title would bring recognition to my work and dedication to uplifting the trans community through the art of drag. Through my drag performances, I work to voice my experiences growing up openly trans. These pieces continue to open up many insightful and valuable conversations and connections with those who learn from or relate to my stories. I believe so strongly in the power of that vulnerability and its ability to unite. It allows me to be able to open the eyes of my cis peers, but more importantly, to be able to help people like me see that they’re not alone. I hope to be representation for the trans community as Grand Marshal, and showcase the resilience of trans kids and the trans adults we grow up to be. <3

Hi hi! :) For those who don’t know me my name is Avery better known through drag as Katarina Mirage or just Kat. My pronouns are she/her or they/them. I’ve been an active member of this community since I started school here back in 2012 and have remained active as ever to this day. I’m one of the cohosts and producers of the monthly drag shows that take place at SNUGS and have had a say in planning and organizing drag events for the majority of my time living here in town. (If you’ve gone to a drag event in New Paltz in the last 10 years we’ve probably crossed paths at one of those minimum.) Most in the community these days have come to know me as the “auntie” to go to for life advice, grounding in tough situations, or just a shoulder to cry on or vent to. I feel like I’ve become somewhat of a mentor to the kids and it’s a role I hold close to my heart. A big goal of mine in town is to continue creating safe spaces and promoting queer visibility and happiness. What does that look like? Hopefully story times for kids, drag events that aren’t just at bars or in locations for 21+ individuals, “sober adventures” for folks who just want friends without the pressure of substances, and more. The world we live in is scary and any part I can take to ease that for others I will gladly take. I always say it but my only true goal is to be the voice or role model I wish I had for myself growing up. 

Happy Pride! Lookout for each other and always remember to spread kindness and love. ✨🩷✨

Vella Peculiar

I feel grateful towards our LGBTQ+ community for nominating me for grand Marshall at New Paltz Pride March 2024. Queerness is an identity where all persons can intersect. With that fact in mind, we march for the visibility and rights of our Queer community while not forgetting that equality of people as a whole is the ultimate goal. Intersectionality of identities is what makes our community the beating heart of change towards a world that can be inclusive and encompassing of everyone regardless of ability, age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, and religion. As a producer of drag shows in New Paltz for the past decade, my intention is to gather people from all walks of life to experience queer artistry, activate a collective consciousness on how systemic and institutionalized oppression effects all of us, and remind people that when we are together, open, and compassionate we can cultivate change. 

Alex Wojcik

I’m honored to be nominated to serve as marshal of the 20th annual New Paltz Pride March. As a queer person elected to local office, I’ve been wielding the podium granted by the people as a shield to protect, empower, and celebrate our LGBTQ+ family in every way possible, in every room and at every table. In 2021, Pride was canceled by the HV Center 10 days out, and it is one of the proudest achievements of my life to have not only saved our annual Pride March and Festival, but to also have helped it grow into a community-led happening that balances celebrating visibility with honoring our queer community’s intersectional struggles, while providing equal parts fun and resources. If chosen to marshal this year, I vow to do so as a vessel of the people, and with as much verve and eco-glitter as I bring to everything I do.

Alex Wojcik