📅 Sunday, August 30, 2026
⌚ Noon – 3 pm
📍 Pond House Cafe: 1555 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford
💅 Dress: Open-Air Festive
Equality CT invites you to join us at the The Summer Party, an event bringing together community leaders, advocates, partners, and supporters for an afternoon of connection, celebration, and purpose. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare access, and safety are under increasing attack nationwide, your participation directly supports Equality CT’s advocacy, organizing, and policy work to protect and advance equality across Connecticut. Through your partnership, we will continue building a stronger, safer, and more equitable future for Connecticut’s LGBTQ+ community.
Purchase Tickets | Become a Sponsor | Advertise with The Summer Party | FAQs
Thank you to our presenting sponsor
Equality CT will present the inaugural Shawn Lang Medal of Courage to Anthony Crisci, CEO of Circle Care Center, and the inaugural Jerimarie Liesgang Medal of Vision to Brianna Skowera, lead organizer of Middletown Pride.
The Shawn Lang Medal of Courage honors the late AIDS activist, who devoted her career to advocating for people living with HIV, LGBTQ people, survivors of domestic violence, individuals experiencing housing insecurity, and people struggling with substance use. The award recognizes individuals whose courage and compassion have expanded health, dignity, and opportunity for others.
Anthony Crisci has served as President & CEO of Circle Care Center since 2022. Under his leadership, Circle Care has grown into one of Connecticut’s largest providers of affordable, accessible, LGBTQ+-affirming and sex-positive primary and sexual healthcare. Previously, as the first paid Executive Director of Triangle Community Center, he helped build TCC into Connecticut’s largest LGBTQ+ community center.
The Jerimarie Liesgang Medal of Vision honors the pioneering transgender advocate widely regarded as the mother of Connecticut’s transgender rights movement. Liesgang founded multiple organizations advancing transgender equality and organized the state’s first Transgender Day of Remembrance before her death in 2020. The award recognizes visionary leadership that strengthens Connecticut’s LGBTQ community and expands equality for future generations.
Brianna (“Bree”) Skowera is a queer transgender woman, public servant, technologist, and LGBTQIA+ advocate from Middletown. She combines public service, community-building, and queer visibility in her roles as Chair of the City’s LGBTQIA+ Commission and a lead organizer of Middletown Pride. Bree has helped grow Middletown Pride into one of New England’s largest Pride celebrations and worked to make schools safer for LGBTQIA+ students.
Purchase Tickets | Become a Sponsor | Advertise with The Summer Party | FAQs
Platinum Sponsor
Community Sponsors
Colin Hosten
Chris Spiegelman & Charlie Scatamacchia
West Hartford Pride
Friends of Equality Connecticut
Cifuentes/Zarnoch Family
Andrew & Isaac Mitchell-Namdar
Print Sponsor
FAQs
Questions about sponsorship? Send an email to Matt Blinstrubas.
Early bird tickets purchased by August 10 are $175. On August 11, tickets are $200.
A bundle of 10 tickets is $1,500.
The deadline to purchase tickets is August 20, 2026.
Tickets are on sale here.
The Pond House is giving us the best of both worlds. We’ve reserved both the indoor and outdoor spaces, so if the weather cooperates, expect cocktails, conversation and celebration on the patio. Think summer chic – the patio is your runway.
| Ad Size | Dimensions (H x W) | Cost |
| Full Page | 8″ x 5″ (trim) | $250 |
| Half Page | 3.875″ x 5.0″ (trim) | $125 |
| Quarter Page | 3.875″ x 2.375″ (trim) | $75 |
Ad File Specifications:
Advertising Deadline: Friday, August 7, 2026, 5 pm
Please submit artwork to Melissa via email to melissa@eqct.org.