“We celebrate that we can be who we are,” explained a participant of the LGBTQIA+event at NH. She is one of 3,500 to 4,000 people who participate in the Parade. “That we don’t have to be afraid here if we walk hand in hand or if we kiss a woman on the street.”
Attention important
The Zaanse Regenboogdagen, which already started on Thursday with performances in the Zaantheater, were kicked off in the Zaanlands Lyceum, where much attention is paid to the subject. According to Brechtje, one of the students of the Lyceum, the visibility of queer Very important.
“There are still many students who don’t dare to get out of the closet,” she says. “Then it is important that you pay a lot of attention to it in schools.” Fixing the rainbow flag at the school was part of that visibility.
Zaanstad on the map
Frank Vos, chairman of the Zaanse Regenboog Foundation, was very proud that he brought the pink party to Zaandam together with all the volunteers and authorities. He rode with the rainbow parade and looked proudly around him.
“It is great and desperately needed, nothing has happened here for queer rights for a long time. We put Zaanstad on the map together,” says Vos.
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