Celebrating diversity, equality, and love in Wellsville NY
From Tristen Amidon, with photos from CALC
This past weekend, the Cattaraugus-Allegany Liberation Coalition (CALC) hosted their third annual Rainbow Revolution at Island Park, showing how pride can be beneficial to both LGBTQ+ people and allies alike.
Vendors and organizations showed up in support, from small businesses based in Wellsville to large-scale organizations coming in from the Finger Lakes region.
Not everything at the festival required dinari*, though. Live music was performed by local band Casual ReMix and they had a lot of free stuff, from arts and crafts to yoga sessions to a pride story time.
Casual ReMix members Michelle Libertone, Jessie Thompson and John Spicer perform a song.
CALC zhooshed* the park up with handmade signs and temporarily renamed the pavilions. They were changed to the Audre Lord Pavilion, the Marsha P. Johnson Art Build Pavilion, the Ma Rainey Pavilion and Compton’s Cafeteria. All but the last one were named after famous Black LGBTQ+ women, with Compton’s Cafeteria being named after the famous riot in 1966.
A member of Cattaraugus-Allegany Liberation Coalition helps with crafting in the Marsha P. Johnson Art Build Pavilion
Rainbow Revolution is unlike a lot of different events around here. Instead of paying a tabling fee, vendors have the option to donate to an LGBTQ+-affirming organization. CALC reports that in 2026, their vendors have donated over $500 to various organizations.
“*This article uses 2 non-English words: dinari, meaning “money”, and zhooshed, meaning “to style/improve.” These words come from the Polari language which was used widely among gay man in the 19th and 20th centuries as a form of code and identification.”
