Tunes and Trims for Trans Day of Visibility

To honor Transgender Day of Visibility, Little Loaf Bakeshop and Chroma hosted an open mic and free gender affirming haircut event this past weekend, collaborating with Trans Joy Revolution. 

Transgender Day of Visibility takes place on March 31. Transgender activist Rachel Crandall Crocker founded it in 2009 in response to the lack of support given to transgender people in the LGBTQ+ community. As the day has gained more popularity, it has become a time for celebrating and uplifting past and present trans voices in communities. 

Trans Joy Revolution is a Hudson Valley-based mutual aid focused on transgender revolution and joy. Their work centers on trans people who face marginalization and works to protect them by creating a safe space, according to their website. 

Little Loaf Bakeshop is a New Paltz queer-owned bakery that recently opened on Jan. 24. Located on Main Street, the bake shop is owned by partners Rian Finnegan and Colleen Orlando. The couple held a Transgender Day of Visibility open mic on Friday, March 28, in collaboration with Trans Joy Revolution and advertised with the tagline “Trans is forever.” 

Masks were required and provided at the event, with customers being encouraged to eat outside on the patio. On the same patio, Little Loaf provided stickers and crafts for patrons to enjoy before the performances began. The bakery also offered pastries and free beverages.

“We’re a trans-owned business, and a lot of queer folks work here,” Finnegan said. “It’s a really tough time for the queer community right now and joy and community and connection and resilience is the antidote to everything that’s happening in the world. It feels really important to be here and visible.” 

The event started with a member of Trans Joy Revolution reading an excerpt from Leslie Feinberg’s book “Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue.” The microphone was then taken by Colton Thorn, a local transgender activist, who introduced the first performer.

The different performances ranged from songs, poems and excerpts from personal writings. Throughout the sets, Thorn kept the audience engaged with dad jokes. “Did you hear about the guys who stole the calendar?” he asked. “They each got six months.” 

Each performance captivated the audience, with one person reading a letter they wrote to their 11-year-old self, one reading an excerpt from their upcoming book “Attack Helicopter Mother” and another creating a group sing-along to “Creep” by Radiohead. 

“I feel like when even one person comes to our events, it feels really successful. But this weekend, especially, we’re feeling so much love. It’s been an amazing turnout. It was such a moment of connection and being seen that we really needed,” said Berrie, a member of Trans Joy Revolution.

Thorn, who runs open mics at local venues and has upcoming events at Salt Box Bar and Unicorn Bar in Kingston, emphasized the importance of trans-safe events for people who are out, closeted or struggling with their gender identity. 

“Being visible can mean anything to anyone … I think that the more that we are in community with each other, especially right now, with the political climate, the more we can uplift each other, the more that we can feel seen and celebrated for who we are,” Thorn said. “I think that music, poetry, jokes and gathering are always such a healing property of community building and expression in general.”

Chroma is a local hair salon located on Main Street that prides itself on being all-inclusive and providing a safe space for customers. Owned by Melissa Megan, the salon offers multiple hair services, such as coloring, cuts and protective hairstyles, with four hair stylists available to customers based on their specialties.  

The hair salon offered a free gender affirming haircut event from noon to 4 p.m. on March 30. It was on a first-come, first-serve basis, and while patrons waited they could enjoy pastries from Little Loaf and crafts from Trans Joy Revolution. The craft was printmaking, with fabric, paints and stencils provided. Words such as “queen,” “mutant,” “femme” and “emo” were available for people to stamp and create artwork with. 

Chroma served 21 customers between three hair stylists in the four-hour span. This is not Chroma’s first time offering free haircuts for trans people, but their first time collaborating with Trans Joy Revolution.

The idea for the event originated from The Dresscode Project, a Canadian organization dedicated to training hairstylists and salons on creating gender affirming spaces. 

The two businesses collaborated with one another and Trans Joy Revolution to make these events possible. “We wanted to do something on the same weekend where both of our businesses could kind of bounce off of each other. [Trans Joy Revolution] was kind of like the connecting thread between us,” Megan said. 

With recent cuts to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion services across the country, Megan said she found the event incredibly rewarding. “I think it’s more important than ever that the trans community feels understood and seen and that they have a way to express themselves fully. In a space that feels not just welcoming or safe but also celebratory of their identity,” she said.  

“It feels extra needed right now, because I think there’s a lot of threats. A lot of our trans and queer community feel very ignored and kind of like they’re being pushed into the shadows, and so this is the way to celebrate them. This event is a way for us to let them know how much we appreciate them.”