Hyattsville elementary PTA hosts second annual Pride festival

Rainbow flags waved and families filled David C. Driskell Community Park on June 22 as Hyattsville Elementary School’s PTA held its second annual Pride Festival. The gathering brought neighbors together to show local LGBTQIA+ members and youth that they are seen and celebrated, a message that carried extra weight in a county where school climate and belonging remain closely watched.

The festival was listed on the City of Hyattsville’s Pride Month calendar, alongside other June events such as Trolley Trail Day Pride walks and a Hyattsville Pride Potluck & Block Party. City leaders describe Pride celebrations as a way to bring together community volunteers, businesses, neighbors, families and friends around community, connection, visibility and pride, and the PTA event fit squarely into that local Pride network.

Hyattsville’s official Pride page says the city is home to more than twice the national average of same-sex households, a figure that helps explain why the festival has taken root here. In a city where Pride is woven into neighborhood life rather than set apart as a one-day statement, the school event became part of the broader identity of the community.

The setting added its own meaning. David C. Driskell Community Park is Hyattsville’s largest park, covering 32 acres, and it was renamed in 2021 after the original 1927 park deed was found to contain racist and restrictive language. The new name honors former Hyattsville resident David C. Driskell, the artist, historian, curator and scholar of African American art. Holding a Pride festival there linked one public act of inclusion to another, in a park already tied to the city’s effort to correct its history.

Prince George’s County Public Schools says its Pride Month observance affirms the celebration and recognition of LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families. Board Policy 0103 says the district seeks a safe, welcoming and affirming environment regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The Hyattsville event put those words into a neighborhood setting, with parents and children gathering at a city park rather than waiting for a policy statement to do the work of welcome.

The festival also had the force of precedent. Hyattsville Elementary School hosted the first-ever Pride Festival in Prince George’s County Public Schools on June 6, 2025, organized by Hyattsville residents and PTA leaders Jamie McGonnigal and Amy Parker, along with Aliya Yancey and Sara Bendoraitis. Its return this year showed the event had moved beyond a one-time celebration and into a recurring tradition for Hyattsville families.