In June 2025, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (parent organization to Montgomery Parks) published a brochure honoring the profound contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals, movements, and sites that have shaped the region. The effort is rooted in Preservation Maryland’s 2018 Maryland LGBTQ Historic Context Study and expanded by new research from M-NCPPC cultural resources and historic preservation staff.
The publication focuses on the past several decades, and includes stories of activism, arts and culture, community organizing, and resilience.
Montgomery Pride in the Parks
In the early 1990s, the county’s first Pride events were held in local parks. These gatherings gave the county’s LGBTQ+ population a welcoming place close to home to celebrate together. The events were also a time to recognize recent successes from local activists and to learn about community groups. By 1996, organizers had moved Montgomery Pride to the grounds of Montgomery College. Today the county’s celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride takes place at Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring.
Parklawn Local Park – 1993
Now the site of a community garden, this spot was once a picnic area. On Saturday, June 26, 1993 it was the location for the county’s first ever Pride celebration. About 220 attended the event which also marked the first time that the county council issued a proclamation recognizing the day. Despite requests from organizers, bisexuals were left off the proclamation declaring June 26 as “Lesbian and Gay Pride Day.” Attendees enjoyed a festive atmosphere close to home with local musicians, Drag performers, and community info booths. One attendee remarked to the Washington Blade newspaper, “Everyone knows there are Gays in D.C., but no one thinks about Gays being way out in Montgomery County.” Another said, “We knew we were here, but it’s nice to see so many.”
Hillandale Local Park – 1994
On May 24, 1994, the Montgomery County Council voted to eliminate a provision that allowed discrimination against gay and bisexual people who worked with children. The victory made the county’s second LesBiGay Pride Day even more celebratory as about 400 gathered on June 11 at Hillandale Local Park. Attendees enjoyed performances, vendors, info tables, and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere close to home.
Pride organizer Gay and Lesbian Interest Consortium (GLIC) gave service awards to those instrumental in adding sexual orientation to the county’s list of protected classes in 1984—Robert Coggin (former co-chair of the Suburban Maryland Lesbian and Gay Alliance), Stuart Harvey (activist), Peri Jude Radecic (former Lesbian rights coordinator for the county’s National Organization for Women), and Susan Silber (Takoma Park attorney).
Valley Mill Special Park – 1995
On June 4, 1995, about 750 people came to this park for the county’s third annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. Children played while adults enjoyed performances, vendors, and info booths.
Lake Needwood, Rock Creek Regional Park – 1996
Close to 1,000 people gathered in this park’s shady picnic area for the county’s fourth annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. It was the first year that the county declared the entire month of June as Pride month.
At the event, the organizers honored Bonnie J. Berger (1955-2020) with a community service award. In addition to being the founder of GLIC and lead organizer of the county’s first Pride event, she had just led the successful 1996 effort to secure civil rights protections for queer people working within the county’s public schools. Very active in the gay community, she served as a volunteer for Sisterfire (a women’s culture and music festival) in the 1980s and served on the county’s Human Relations Commission. She was a key advocate in the push to remove anti-gay amendments from county law and ensure anti-discrimination laws were carried out fairly. She went on to be ordained as an Interfaith minister and performed the first public same-sex marriage in the U.S. after it was legalized in Washington DC in 2010.