Boston LGBT Youth Celebrate 32nd Annual Prom

As high schools around the country prepare their cafeterias for junior and senior dances, in Boston, a special prom will celebrate its 32nd year of encouraging and establishing youth LGBT pride.

BAGLY, The Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth, will host its Annual Prom at Boston City Hall on Saturday, May 19, in honor of this weekend's Youth Pride celebration.

"Youth Pride and BAGLY Prom provide an opportunity for young people to socialize and celebrate pride within their own setting without some of those adult trappings floating around, which is great," said BAGLY Executive Director Grace Sterling Stowell.

It's now the longest-running prom for LGBT youth in the country, said Sterling adding, "In fact, as far as we know, in the world."

The prom started in June 1981 after Michael Pumphret, an original youth member of BAGLY, voiced his concern that he couldn't bring a same-sex date to his high school prom. After he spoke with the committee, they agreed to host their own event. The dance was organized and held in the basement of the Arlington Street Church.

"There was music and dancing and we cooked...I think it was lasagna," said Sterling Stowell with a laugh.

Since that first year, BAGLY has held the annual prom every year without interruption. While the first dance only drew 50 to 75 attendees, the size continued to grow throughout the '80s and '90s.

Then, in 1995, the Governor's Commission on LGBT Youth established Youth Pride, to create a safe event of its own. Since June's Boston Pride celebration tends to cater to adults, with many club events and block parties that serve alcohol, Youth Pride presents a welcome alternative.

The BAGLY Prom is an event free of drugs, alcohol, sex, weapons, and violence, making it a safe place for young people to be who they are. In 1996, the prom was moved to City Hall and rescheduled for May, to coincide with Youth Pride events.

"Numbers jumped to 700 and then to 1,000," said Sterling Stowell. "We peaked at 1,700 guests. We usually get more than 1,000 young people from across the state, and even from outside of Massachusetts to come to the event."

"It's a non-traditional prom -- you don't need to come as part of a couple," she continued. "It's a safe space with plenty of adult chaperones, including parents and teachers along with staff and board members from BAGLY."

Sterling Stowell said that Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has always been very supportive of the BAGLY prom.

"We'd like to thank the mayor for his long-standing support of this," she said. "It's been 16 years and 17 proms that we've had at City Hall. That's almost half of the 32 proms BAGLY has held."

According to the executive director, BAGLY also collaborates with community organizations to make sure there's help with promotions and easy access to health resources. City Hall security is also there to protect attendees.

BAGLY has been involved with the prom since the beginning of Youth Pride in the late '90s, and some of their most active youth leaders pitch in year after year.

In recent years, BAGLY has held additional events leading up to the prom, such as elections for Prom King and Queen, which were voted upon earlier this week. Randy Price, a supportive newscaster at WCVB-Channel 5, will also stop by the prom to offer his support for LGBT Youth.

In celebration of Youth Pride, BAGLY's Clinic @ 620 will have open hours on Saturday, as well. Services available include rapid HIV testing, STI screenings, and Hepatitis A&B vaccinations. Youth Pride is held on Saturday, May 19. At noon, there will be a parade around Boston Common, followed by a festival that lasts until 4 p.m.

BAGLY's 32nd Annual Prom will be held at 7 p.m. on May 19, at Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square. Tickets are $20 at the door. For info about Boston Youth Pride events, visit www.bostonpride.org/youthpride/ or www.bagly.org