Bocce? Bocce?? No, It’s Queer Bocce! I now get it.
Never in a million years would I have predicted that one of the most incredible events for our Community would be playing bocce. Bocce was that game played by old Italian men with mustaches smoking cigarettes in Bloomfield. Stonewall Sports Pittsburgh’s Bocce is none of that. I recently attended the Thursday night Stonewall Bocce games. Here’s what I saw:
First, it’s colorful, very colorful. I arrived early and was able to witness this gathering of t-shirt colors with likes finding likes. It was almost every color out of the 64-count Crayola crayon box. As one periwinkle, burnt sienna, and tickle-me-pink arrived, they found their matching mates. It was amazing how many people kept showing up. What I thought in my head would be a few dozen folks suddenly seemed to be approaching a thousand. OK, maybe not a thousand participants, but I’m told it’s only 501 from the organizers. Soon the entire field was covered by splotches of color. I felt like I was on a billiard table gone mad but in a good way. FYI – When you need a drone to capture your event, then that is HUGE! Check out the drone footage from Stonewall Bocce Pittsburgh, Stonewall Alliance, and photographer Austin Pilz.
What’s great about the event is that they have created a safe space for everyone. It’s held in a very private park every Thursday evening in Swissvale. You drive down to the field to a very large area surrounded by trees. Once you step out of your car, you are greeted by loud, lively music playing via a speaker setup that covers the entire grounds. You immediately feel comfortable. And you ask, “wow, can they make this any gayer?” Let’s add a food truck and a popular mobile liquor bar. All of this adds to the success of the event. However, the best ingredient here is the people.
The participants are of all ages and all sizes. When they say ‘All are welcome’ it’s proven here. There were old, young, queer, straight, he, she, and they. The one thing that everyone seemed to have in common was the smiles. These were happy people. I’ve never gotten joy from rolling a 2.03 lb. ball towards a smaller white ball in a grass field, but I’ve now been shown that many people out there do. There were cheers and there were jeers. Who knew that bocce could be so competitive? It is.
I love these moments that make me feel queerer but also prouder. This was one of those moments. I’m still gob-smacked by the turnout because when a thousand people (501 per organizers) show up, it could get chaotic. There was none of that. Everyone seems to know what to do, where to go and most importantly how to play the game. Kudos to Justin Coy, Jeremy DeLuca, Ryan Higgins, Jeffrey Morris, Ashley Dunbar, Joshua Berkey, Sean Murphy, Abby McMahon, Molly Butler, Michael James, and dozens of other volunteers for making this incredible event possible. Thank you, Brian Werner, for the invite.
I would urge anyone interested in checking out the league to visit. They play every Thursday evening at Less Getz Memorial Field in Swissvale. Or even attend their Championship Day, which will occur on Saturday, October 12, rain or shine. The games will start at noon, and last until around 5:00 pm. Several food trucks, dessert options, the infamous drink cart, and raffle baskets will be auctioned off. Of course, there will be a live DJ playing throughout the whole event. Please check out their Instagram for the most up-to-date information and weather updates.
Queer Bocce: It’s not your Grandfather’s Bocce.
