Which NYC 50th Pride Parade Are You Going To?

That’s right there maybe two Pride Parades in New York City this year!

One is the “Official” pride parade and one is going to be the “People’s” pride parade.

Rival group to hold competing Pride march in NYC
The Blade
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
January 31, 2019

A New York City-based group called the Reclaim Pride Coalition announced last week that more than 50 LGBT rights organizations in the U.S. and other countries have endorsed its plans for a “non-corporate, grassroots” civil rights march to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Organizers say the “Reclaim Pride” march will take place on June 30 on the same day and at the same time but along a different route than the official New York City Pride March, which has been organized for more than 20 years by the group Heritage of Pride or HOP.

Similar to disputes over LGBT Pride events that have surfaced in recent years in other cities, including D.C., Reclaim Pride Coalition officials say they decided to hold their own march after their attempts for more than two years to persuade HOP to change its Pride March to better reflect the historic atmosphere of protest and rebellion triggered by Stonewall have been unsuccessful.

“Eschewing the corporate-saturated, highly policed nature of recent parades, the [Reclaim Pride] March is a truly grassroots action that mobilizes the community to address the many social and political battles that continue to be fought locally, nationally, and globally,” the Reclaim Pride Coalition said in a Jan. 24 statement.

And LGBTQ Nation writes,

For the past 20 years, pride in New York has been organized by Heritage of Pride (HOP). The organization has faced criticism in past years for the presence of corporate floats and campaigning politicians, the presence of uniformed police officers, and restrictions like metal barricades on the route and requiring anyone participating to have a wrist band.
[…]
HOP has said in the past that the corporate sponsorship is necessary to fund New York Pride. This year’s festivities will include over fifty events and a performance by Melissa Etheridge.

New York Pride is expected to cost around $12 million.

It used to be the cities let organizations march for free or for very little cost but now with budgets cuts, parades, community block parties, and cultural parades are feeling the pinch. Also in this post 9/11 climate security has increased dramatically.

In Hartford the Pride Festival has corporate sponsors because from what I understand there are fees and security costs to hold Pride have become excesses forcing the need for corporate sponsors.

Even the Trans Health and Law conference we need corporate sponsors to offset the costs so that we can hold admission to $25. Beside meals (which the $25 covers) we have insurance, advertising, and the cost of the program booklets.

Personally I recognize the need for corporate sponsors but…

I don’t like logo plastered everywhere and don’t like corporate sponsors from the adult beverage companies. I think Pride should be for everyone both young and old.

Also Pride has become much more than just the parade, it has become a “happening!” more like Mardi Gras with events and shows over several days and nights.

If You Ever Wanted To Go To NYC For Pride, This Is the Year
Looks like over 4 million queers are attending and Melissa Etheridge is performing.
Out
By Mikelle Street
January 16, 2019

If you haven’t gone to New York City for Pride, this is the year to do it.
In June, New York City will play host to its annual Pride Week, which will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. On top of that, the state will host the roving WorldPride Event, meaning that the festivities will span some 50+ events across the month, with over 4 million people expected to attend during that time — last year there were just over 2 million according to reports. Yeah, a ton of queers.

“It will be 50 years since an uprising, notably led by transgender individuals and people of color, that began this modern movement,” the co-chairs of Heritage of Pride, Maryanne Roberto Fine and David Studinski write in the preview guide for the event. Their organization will put on 25 official Pride events in New York City. “NYC Pride has invested countless hours of volunteer and staff energy to bring the 2019 event season to life — and we can’t wait to share all the details with you.”

With planning having started back in 2009, the event already boasts Grammy Award winning singer Melissa Etheridge as one of the performers for the free WorldPride closing ceremony to be held in Times Square on June 30. That event will be complemented by a “star-studded” opening ceremony on June 26, Also on the docket is OutCinema, a three-day film festival; a two-day Human Rights Conference; Pride Island, a three-day musical event; a Stonewall 50 commemoration rally; “Geeks Out,” a gay cosplay event; as well as the annual march.

“It’s not a fucking parade,” Billy Porter told reporters, presumably referencing the sometimes lackadaisical attitude some take to Pride. During the march, Porter will serve as a correspondent of ABC’s live broadcast. “It’s a march. We have a message.” Organizers have confirmed that they have built out the grandstands to be as inclusive of differently abled bodies as possible, and that they do anticipate protesters — which have become increasingly popular over the last five years, particularly around the inclusion of police and corporations. But, as they aptly noted, Pride itself, is a protest, and as such is a space for all.

If you want to know why they need corporate sponsors this is it!

It is no longer a celebration of our quest for our rights as a people but rather it has become… “PARTYTIME!”

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