Fall River Is About to Get Its First Pride Crosswalk

Fall River will welcome its first-ever Pride crosswalk downtown, one of many steps the city is taking to show its support to the LGBTQ community.

Growing up on the SouthCoast, I never noticed any real public displays of inclusion in our area, so it makes my heart so happy to know that Fall River is making a permanent installation.

The city will host an official unveiling of the crosswalk on Sunday, June 5, noon to 5 p,m,, just in time for the 3rd Annual Pride Festivities. The day will include drag performances, a DJ, vendors, food trucks, a photo booth and more.

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Fall River Pride Committee President Sean Connell expressed enthusiasm about the crosswalk outside Government Center.

“I am so incredibly thrilled to be able to paint a downtown crosswalk with the colors of the rainbow,” he said in a statement. "This will serve as a wonderful year-round reminder that the City of Fall River embraces the LGBTQ community and has a deep, profound love and respect for all of our city’s diverse populations."

The theme for the day, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," is so fitting. I can't wait to see this for myself.

The crosswalk, which might end up looking like the one above, was painted with support from the Fall River Arts & Culture Coalition by local artist Brad Eadie/Eli Mae.

Noting the work that remains to be done, FRACC Executive Director Ashley Occhino said the crosswalk is "part of a broader strategy to help more queer and trans people by providing a backdrop for change.”

More information is available on the Fall River Pride Committee's Facebook page.

See How Much This Fall River Intersection Has Changed in a Decade

Well this is surely a blast from the past. While exploring Google Maps' street view feature recently, I came across an old still from 2012 mixed in with the more recent ones. It showed an almost decade-old look at Fall River's New Harbour Mall, which is now dead and has been replaced by the stores at the SouthCoast Marketplace. The more I looked around the intersection on William Canning Boulevard, the more I began to see remnants of the past, some that may now be long-forgotten for some. This Fall River intersection has changed so much in the past near-decade, but if you're needing a little look in the rearview to see how far it's come, check out some of the following stills.

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