For the very first time, the town of Lyndhurst raised an LGBT pride flag – alongside the American flag – to celebrate Pride Month.

The event was organized by Lyndhurst resident Christopher Valiante, who asked the Lyndhurst Board of Commissioners and the town’s mayor if they would consider holding such a celebration. Town leadership agreed and plans for the event were put into place.

In addition to the flag raising, there were also rainbow bagels and rainbow temporary tattoos for kids. Attendees say that it was an overall joyous celebration of diversity.

“It sends a message that this town is a zero-tolerance town for any kind of bullying or any kind of hatred to any individual who’s different or feels different,” Valiante says.

Lyndhurst Mayor Robert Giangeruso spoke about what a milestone this event was for the town. He presented Valiante with a letter that proclaimed this as the first day the pride flag was raised in Lyndhurst.

The mayor says that Gov. Phil Murphy reached out to this earlier in the week to commend the community for recognizing Pride Month.