MAIN Travel USA New York City NYC Gay Pride Parade

Gay pride has been publicly celebrated throughout the world since the early 1970's.

Originating in New York City, the Gay Pride Parade is actually just one rainbow-colored event among many that goes on in NYC during Gay Pride Week.

Typically, the NYC Gay Pride Parade is held on the last Sunday in June. Also celebrated about the same time is the annual Gay Pride rally and the annual Dance on the Pier, all culminating in the big parade and the Pridefest street fair wrapping up Gay Pride Week.

NYC Gay Pride Week 2012

Celebrations kick off in New York on Saturday, June 16, 2012 beginning at 3PM. The traditional rallying point is at Central Park's Summerstage at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue, although that is yet to be confirmed for 2012.

Next follows the annual "Rapture on the River: A Women's Dance" scheduled for Saturday, June 23 2012 at 13th Street on the Hudson River.

Gay Pride Week culminates in the headline grabbing BIG EVENT on Sunday with a parade down Fifth Avenue beginning at noon on June 24, 2012 — marching from 36th Street and heading south to Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.

On Sunday, the party continues as parade watchers are invited to Pridefest, the annual LGBT street fair on Hudson Street to round off gay pride festivities in New York City.

Remembering Stonewall

2011 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, and a reminder that the Gay Pride Parade was not always such a festive event.

The original purpose of the parade was to commemorate the riots at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay and lesbian bar of the time that became the epicenter for violent protests against the unlawful treatment that gays and lesbians suffered at the hands of the New York City police department.

The Stonewall riots are now considered a major turning point in the Gay Rights movement, and the Gay Pride Parade still goes past the site every year to pay tribute to its significance.

There is also a moment of silence during the Gay Pride Parade, which was adopted in 1986 by organizers as a response to the AIDS crisis, which was at that time a particularly heated issue within the gay and lesbian community.

It's Time to Party

Today, the Gay Pride Parade is an upbeat and festive event that draws huge crowds from around the Metro New York area numbering more than one million participants and spectators.

Vibrant costumes and dress have, in many ways, come to embody the spirit of the Gay Pride Parade over the years.

While event organizers remind participants that New York State has a law against nudity below the belt, parade participants are encouraged to express themselves in whatever way they see fit, which typically amounts to a spectacular display of creative and original costumes, displays, and floats.

More about the Gay Pride Week around the Web:

NYC Pride - The official site with details on the whole of Gay Pride Week festivities including times & locations, participant guide, volunteer opportunities, FAQ, photos & contact info.

Gay Pride New York City - About.com guide to Gay Pride Week with information on the parade, festival, the dance on the pier, and related events.

also see in Society -> Gays & Lesbians | Same Sex Marriage

also see in Travel -> Gay Friendly Travel

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