By Evelyn Bailey
Saturday, June 19, 2010, 4:00 – 8:00 PM THE RALLY
72nd St. & 5th Ave. @ Rumsey Playfield Central Park
First NYC LGBT Pride Rally occurred one month after Stonewall Riots in June 1969. 500 people gathered for "Gay Power" demonstration in Washington Square Park. Candlelight vigil followed in Sheridan Square. From 1997 to 2009, Rally in Bryant Park.
Saturday, June 26, 2010, 6 – 11PM RAPTURE ON THE RIVER: A WOMEN'S DANCE
Pier 54, 13th St @ the West Side Highway – Hudson River Park
The officieal NYC Pride Week Women’s Dance. Rapture on the River is in its seventh year. This has become a staple Pride event for women in New York City.
Sunday, June 27, 2010, 11 AM – 7 PM PRIDEFEST
Hudson St. between Abingdon Sq. & West 14th St.
PrideFest is the annual LGBT street fair which seeks to bring together local residents and families, community leaders, and area business owners to celebrate in the street. This will be 18th annual PrideFest event.
Sunday, June 27, 2010 – Step-Off @ Noon THE MARCH
Formation Area/Step-Off @ 52nd & 5th
First NYC Gay Pride March was held in 1970 and is oldest gay pride parade. The March has been and will continue to be called a March not a Parade until the organizers believe there is full equality for the LGBTQ community. The March began as an annual civil rights demonstration beginning the year after the Stonewall Riots in 1970. Its purpose has broadened to include recognition of the fight against AIDS and to remember those we have lost to the illness, violence and neglect. It has also evolved to include being a celebration of our lives and our community.
NYC March Grand Marshals
Lt. Dan Choi – Lt. Choi’s selection and acceptance of the honor of NYC LGBT Pride Grand Marshal marks the first time in U.S. history that an openly gay male on active service with the U.S. Armed Forces will be an LGBT pride march Grand Marshal. Judy Shepard’s selection and acceptance of the honor of NYC LGBT Pride Grand Marshal marks her 3rd official and final appearance as an LGBT pride march Grand Marshal. Constance McMillen, a Mississippi high school honors student who fought back when her school told her she couldn’t take her girlfriend to the prom.
Sunday, June 27th, 2010, 4:00 – 10:30 PM DANCE ON PIER: DANCE 24
Pier 54, 13th St @ the West Side Highway – Hudson River Park, Fireworks
The Dance on the Pier was born out of a time when LGBT persons could not dance openly and proudly together. It is a protest set to music, a celebration set to the western skyline and a reminder of how far we've come.