MARCH ON! Parades around the world celebrate where it all began.
Parades, events around the world salute 50th anniversary of Stonewall riots
There was nothing terribly unusual about the cops showing up that night 50 years ago at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. Police raided gay bars in that era all the time.
But this time was different. This time, in the predawn hours of June 28, 1969, hundreds of people from the LGBTQ community fought back. They threw everything from pennies to bottles and bricks, and they kept the protests going for days. A month later, a “Gay Power” demonstration took place in Washington Square Park. And a year later, on the last Sunday in June 1970, a march was held to honor the Stonewall riots as the birth of the gay liberation movement.
Today, gay pride parades take place around the world, many of them in June, with one of the largest in New York. This year, as the city marks 50 years since the Stonewall uprising, New York will also for the first time host the annual international event called WorldPride.
New York
Some 4 million visitors are expected in the Big Apple for Stonewall 50 and WorldPride. The biggest events are planned for the last weekend in June, starting with a Friday evening commemoration, June 28, near the Stonewall Inn. The main parade steps off at noon June 30, on Fifth Avenue and 26th Street. It’s a spectacularly colorful pageant of rainbow flags, floats and fabulousness, with participants ranging from drag queens to politicians. This year’s grand marshals include stars of the FX series “Pose,” transgender activist Monica Helms, and members of the Gay Liberation Front and The Trevor Project.
An alternative Queer Liberation March, organized by a group called the Reclaim Pride Coalition, bills itself as a grassroots effort with a more overt political message that will exclude corporate-sponsored floats. That event is planned for 9:30 a.m. June 30 in Sheridan Square.
A number of LGBTQ-themed cultural events and exhibitions are taking place around the city to coincide with Stonewall 50. Many of the shows will remain on view long after the parade.
At the New York Public Library’s main branch at Bryant Park, “Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50,” features photos of the LGBTQ rights movement from the 1960s and ’70s. The Guggenheim Museum has a Robert Mapplethorpe retrospective. The New-York Historical Society recently opened three Stonewall 50 exhibitions: one on LGBTQ nightlife, another featuring highlights from the Lesbian Herstory Archives and a third looking at five decades of NYC Pride marches. The Brooklyn Historical Society offers a fascinating look at LGBTQ communities on the Brooklyn waterfront from the 19th century through World War II, while the Brooklyn Museum hosts a show called “Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall.”
Noteworthy LGBTQ spots around the city include the venerable Stonewall Inn itself, a National Historic Landmark, open noon to 4 a.m. daily at its original Christopher Street location. The National Park Service’s Stonewall National Monument is across the street in Christopher Park, with lifesize sculptures of same-sex couples.
Nearby, check out Marie’s Crisis Cafe, 59 Grove St., a legendary piano bar, and historic Julius’, 159 W. 10th St., where an early gay rights group staged a 1966 “Sip-In” to challenge a state policy revoking the liquor license of any bar that served gay customers.
The NYC AIDS Memorial, 200-218 W. 12th St., honors more than 100,000 New Yorkers who’ve died of AIDS.
Around the U.S.
In Los Angeles, Pride Week wraps up June 9 and includes a Weho (aka West Hollywood) Vogue Ball & Drag Show, performances by Paula Abdul and Meghan Trainor, and a free Pride on the Boulevard block party on Santa Monica Boulevard June 8-9, with the main pride parade June 9, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Hollywood to West Hollywood.
San Francisco’s celebration, June 29-30, themed “Generations of Resistance,” offers community engagement, inspirational speakers and performers across 20 stages and venues. The June 30 parade, one of the country’s oldest and largest pride events, takes place on Market Street from Embarcadero to Civic Center.
Chicago’s parade is June 30 and themed “Stonewall 50: Millions of Moments of Pride.” Pre-parade events include the Chicago Pride Fest, June 22-23, billed as a “love-filled celebration” of diversity and equality in the East Lakeview neighborhood of Boystown. Drag shows and a pet parade are part of the fun.
Twin Cities Pride takes place June 22-23 in Loring Park in Minneapolis, while the main Pride Houston events, including a festival and evening parade, are scheduled for June 22.
Denver PrideFest, June 15-16, at Civic Center Park, offers a 5K race and live entertainment as well as a parade.
Rhode Island Pride in Providence on June 15 features an illuminated nighttime parade. Boston Pride Parade and Festival take place June 8, this year themed “Looking Back, Loving Forward,” in honor of Stonewall 50, with other events like panel discussions and film screenings throughout June.
Seattle’s festivities begin June 8 with the Volunteer Park Pride Festival, a celebration of “queer arts, music, performance and culture.” The city’s Pride Parade, with a Stonewall 50 theme and one of the largest in the country, is scheduled downtown for June 30.
Around the world
Asia’s largest pride parade is in October in Taiwan, and one of the only pride parades in the Middle East takes place June 14 in Tel Aviv. A massive parade on June 23 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, rivals New York’s in size.
EuroPride is held in a different city each year. This summer it’s in Vienna, June 1-16, with a conference, pool day, performances, a run and more, plus the Rainbow Parade on June 15.
Pride events in other European capitals include Berlin’s Christopher Street Day parade July 27; Pride in London’s July 6 parade; and a June 29 parade in Barcelona, Spain. Rome hosts its 25th annual gay pride parade June 8, with festivities that include a street party on gay-friendly Via San Giovanni. Pride events in Paris run June 14-30, with the Marche des Fiertes parade on June 29.