LGBTQ+ crowd comes out for march
CAPE MAY — Equality Cape May welcomed Pride Month on June 7 with its annual Pride March & Party.
This year’s theme was “Unapologetically Us,” and the event was the largest yet with an estimated 300 people.
Participants met at Cove beach before marching together on the Promenade to Cape May Convention Hall, where people gathered to listen to speakers and Resistance Singers.
Group founder and president Ann McCabe said she was blown away by the turnout, and saw more representation from the younger community than in any year prior.
“The first Pride March that we organized, we did it in three weeks with support of our friends at Cape May County Indivisibility,” McCabe said. “That turned out so well that people wanted to continue, and that’s when I started bringing people together. As the event grew, so did the planning process.”
Now, the group dedicates months to organizing not just the march, but additional events as well.
The group is hosting a Pride Ice Cream Social Fundraiser on Saturday, June 20, at Fine Fellows Creamery. The second event, Putt with PRIDE: A Mini Golf Par-Tee, is scheduled for June 25 at 502 Sunset Blvd.
Equality Cape May is an LGBTQIA2S+ community group in Cape May County advocating for queer community members.
McCabe explained that throughout the years, she’s wanted to create community events and spaces where LGBTQIA2S+ people feel welcomed and safe.
Equality Cape May has a large presence in Cape May and there have been efforts to increase their community to neighboring towns in Cape May County.
“Locally, we are looking at our organization as representing Cape May County,” McCabe said. “We need to do a better job about spreading ourselves out.”
Equality Cape May filed for nonprofit status in 2025, and now is an official 501(c).
When beginning that process, McCabe was cognizant of the current administration and the climate around queer rights.
“We certainly recognized that there was a lot of targeting of the trans community and unwelcoming messaging coming from the top, and that to be wise about it, we had to make sure we understand the climate that we’re operating under,” McCabe said. “Because of that, we came prepared to understand that.”
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, as of 2026, almost 400 anti-trans bills have been introduced in state Legislatures across the country. One of the bills, passed in New Hampshire, amends the state’s anti-discrimination law and will allow organizations to categorize people by biological sex.
These polarizing efforts around the country have added additional layers for Equality Cape May when hosting and organizing events.
“We owe that to our community to ensure that the spaces we’re coming into are safe,” McCabe said.
One of New Jersey’s largest Pride Festivals in Montclair has been postponed due to a lack of funding and struggles with sponsors.
McCabe explained that funding has not presented itself as a challenge for the organization. As a primarily volunteer grassroots group, Equality Cape May receives donations from local businesses as the main form of support.
“We can mostly offer our events for free and at low cost,” McCabe said. “People recognize that and feel very generous, and it’s one of those things people have appreciated that we’re here to support the community.”
While Equality Cape May has received support in Cape May, McCabe is aware of the struggle the queer community is experiencing.
“I think the people are craving community and craving a sense of safety,” McCabe said. “They’re really reckoning what can happen if we take our eyes off the prize. Everybody is making a connection, and because of that, they want to be there because they’re recognizing on some level that the queer community is feeling threatened.”
When Equality Cape May first started organizing, they focused their attention on municipal proclamations.
McCabe said that in the past, they’d received positive responses when reaching out to municipalities.
This year, the organization contacted all 16 Cape May County municipalities to ask them to proclaim their support of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and celebrate Pride Month.
Equality Cape May received proclamations from Cape May, West Cape May, Cape May Point, Lower Township, West Wildwood, Ocean City and the Governor’s Office.
“The response from other municipalities varied from crickets to no response at all,” McCabe said. “While we would like to see broader participation, we view these conversations to be part of a longer process, and going forward, our goal is not to just obtain a proclamation, but we will be talking about how to encourage dialogue throughout Cape May County.”
McCabe acknowledged that while these proclamations are a first step for municipalities, Equality Cape May would like to see actions backing up their support.
By JULIA DIGERONIMO/For the Star and Wave
