Oneida County Pride Alliance

About

In the summer of 2022, the LGBTQIA+ community in the Utica area was coming out of the COVID pandemic, recognizing the ways in which that had impacted our sense of connection with each other, and looking for an opportunity to come together. Several local organizations and businesses responded to the need for celebration while acknowledging the challenges we’ve encountered and the work still remaining to be done. They came together to host a Pride festival in Handshake City and the surrounding streets – leading those who attended to ask about how to connect throughout the year and sustain a meaningful and inclusive Pride celebration every June.

Ace Morreale, OCPA’s founder, had recently moved to the area, heard the community’s need for connection, and asked many of the same questions – then decided to take action! After reaching out to local activists and members of the group who had sponsored the Pride event, Ace pulled together local members of the LGBTQIA+ community, allies, and supportive organizations and businesses. Together, these community partners met to brainstorm ideas about what was needed individually and for the community at large, what that might look like, and what the next steps might be in building a vibrant organization that reflected the diversity of our community and would be a central place of connection, sharing resources, learning, celebration and activism.

View Mission Statement & By Laws