Adam Prudhomme
Editor
A Pride display at Newburgh’s Hollow Square Market was the target of vandalism over the weekend.
A rock that had been painted in pride colours has been covered in blue paint. Along with this vandalism, the pride flags that were flying at Newburgh and Tamworth Public Schools were also stolen. The organizers for the Hollow Square Market issued the following statement on Monday:
“Our Pride rocks have been defaced. This is a hate crime and it has been reported to the police. We do not take this lightly. We will be installing cameras on the property today. It hurts our hearts that we even have to do this. Our market is a place that is safe for everyone. It is also private property. Again, the police have been notified and they do have some leads to go on.
To members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, we are so sorry that this happened. We want you to know you are loved and you matter. When we painted these rocks, we hoped this would never happen, and we are doing everything we can to stop it from happening ever again. We will not let this hate stop us from displaying our love and support. We certainly will not allow it to stop us from celebrating Pride at this weekend’s market. To whoever did this, we are sorry you have this kind of hate in your heart. We are sorry you feel the need to hurt others this way. We have a beautiful, shining community and your hate is a blemish on it. We hope someday you can take a hard look at why you feel this way and come to the realization that your hate, vitriol and bigotry helps no one. It only deepens the divide. If we have to repaint our rocks a million times, we will. We will not stand for archaic, discriminatory actions here. At our market, we stand for positivity, love and safety. We would like to mention all of the community members who have come to the market square this morning, the students from the school who have expressed their desire to investigate and to make Newburgh “a safe spot for everyone” and our market’s neighbour who handed us money to repaint the rocks. This is the community that we are proud of. If anyone knows anything about this, or the damage to the Pride flag at the school, any information is helpful to us. Thank you and be safe.”
Not to be deterred, the market will continue with its Pride Day themed market, this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Hollow Square Market takes place every second Saturday throughout the summer and into autumn (save for Friday, July 1 for Canada Day), located at 425 Main St. in Newburgh, running until Oct. 15. For more, see the Hollow Square Market on Facebook.