Saturday, June 21 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
To commemorate and celebrate the success of the Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project, the Ridgefield Historical Society and Ridgefield CT Pride invite you to the Ridgefield Oral History Project Celebration & Conversation. It will be a time to come together, to celebrate and share reflections, stories, and insights gathered throughout the project. Nationally renowned LGBTQIA+ historian, Susan Ferentinos PhD, will facilitate an informal roundtable with project participants. Refreshments will be served. This free program is open to the public and will take place at 2-4pm on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Ridgefield Library, 472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT. Seating is limited and registration online here is required to attend: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdY7b7y6veNV6whJ0CS-SmNrBtb4AFlG7w9UUQ-Ji1As8bvpg/viewform
Launched in 2023, thanks to a generous grant from CT Humanities, the Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project is a collaboration between the Ridgefield Historical Society, Ridgefield CT Pride, and student volunteers from Ridgefield High School. The goals of the Ridgefield Oral History Project are to record, preserve, and share Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ stories, which are underrepresented in the Ridgefield Historical Society’s collection; to foster intergenerational conversation; and increase civic pride and awareness.
Under the guidance of Dr. Susan Ferentinos, Project Advisor; Stephen Bartkus, Ridgefield Historical Society Executive Director and Project Director; Alisa Trachtenberg, Ridgefield CT Pride Director; Dr. Robin Collins, Project Manager; Julie Henderson, Ridgefield High School GSA Club Advisor; and Betsy Reid, Ridgefield Historical Society Collections Manager; Ridgefield High School student volunteers were trained in oral history techniques and conducted 29 interviews with 33 individuals from the Ridgefield community. These powerful stories have been transcribed, cataloged, and preserved in both the Ridgefield Historical Society’s Online Catalog and in the Connecticut Digital Archive, and will also be featured in a forthcoming book edited by Dr. Ferentinos.
“This project represents an important step in making Ridgefield’s history more inclusive,” said Bartkus. “By empowering students to record and preserve the stories of LGBTQIA+ residents, we’ve helped forge meaningful connections across generations and created a more complete and representative historical record.”
The June 21 roundtable will discuss these experiences and celebrate the voices and histories of Ridgefield’s LGBTQIA+ residents. Audience members will have the opportunity to engage with project participants and reflect on the role of personal storytelling in fostering understanding and a more inclusive community.
For more information about the project contact [email protected] or visit: https://ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org/collections/oral-history-project/
