The official of the City of New York Pride theme this year is Strength in Solidarity, a striking reminder that Pride was born as a protest movement against bigotry wherever it manifests itself. Not that there isn’t room to party either.
The actor and singer Billy Porter and the activist Randy Wicker are among this year’s grand marshals Proud March, which kicks off at noon on June 25 at 25th Street and 5th Avenue. (It airs on ABC 7.) Christina Aguilera also headlines that day Pride Islandthe big annual dance, in the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
New York’s official Pride calendar also includes a June tenth brunch featuring Black LGBTQ chefs on June 18 and on June 24 events aimed at people of color and a Youth pride party.
Pride marches and festivals will be held in another area Hudson Valley (June 3); Queens (June 4); Brooklyn (June 10th); Long Island (June 11); the Bronx (June 17); And Haarlem (24th of June). The annual Dike March – “a protest march, not a parade”, according to the organizers – is June 24.
Gen Xers who came of age in New York are in for two doses of gay nostalgia this month. Junior Vasquez — whose job “When Madonna Calls” is a 90s gay anthem — runs at Fire Island’s Ice Palace (June 3). The comedian Joey Ariaswho was a glamorous presence at the Fiorucci shop and the Wigstock festival, performs at Red Eye in Manhattan (June 28).
on June 23 Strange | Artan organization of LGBTQ artists, and Body hacka mutual aid project for transgender and non-binary groups a 3 p.m. party at the Ridgewood Today location to raise money for transgender rights in the South. During the day there is a queer vendor fair and a dance party until dawn.
If the water is calling, you’ll have multiple chances throughout the month to get one Sparkle in the Dark Pride cruise on the Manhattan waterfront, with breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty, cocktails and nightly dances.
Picture this
Queer Desire is the driving force behind two new exhibitions in Manhattan. At the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art through July 16, “I love you like mirrors do”, Coyote Park’s show of photos that documents their love between past and present partners. “Under Cover: JC Leyendecker and American Manhoodat the New-York Historical Society through Aug. 13, examines the homosexual overtones in the artist’s paintings and print ads.
Through June 30, the Queens Museum and the non-profit organization Fotoville gift”Live proudly”, an interdisciplinary exhibition at Rizzuto Park in Richmond Hill, Queens. Compiled by Mohamed Q. Amin, the Executive Director of the Caribbean equality projectthe exhibit celebrates “queer and trans-Caribbean resilience through a lens of racial justice,” according to the museum.
Learn something
The General Services Bureau – Queer Division, a bookstore in the West Village LGBT Community Center, is hosting two face-to-face talks. On June 14, sex expert Zachary Zane discusses his new book of essays:Boyslut: a memoir and a manifestowith Jordyn Taylor, an editor at Men’s Health. The following evening Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini will talk about their new book, “Gender without identity”, which explores theories of gender formation. Both events will be streamed live YouTube.
During June, the Whitney Museum of American Art Queer History Walks in Manhattan’s meatpacking district, focusing on the neighborhood’s LGBTQ past. Pride Tours NYC offers daily guided walking tours, with stops at the Stonewall Inn and Julius’ Bar, the site of New York’s first sip.
Screen and be seen
New Year’s Eve, New York’s annual LGBTQ film festival, runs June 1-5 with in-person and virtual programs. On June 5, it presents a free outdoor screening of “The stroll” Documentary by Kristen Lovell about the history of the meatpacking district, told from the perspective of transgender sex workers.
On June 21, Rooftop Films and the Fort Greene Park Conservancy are teaming up on “Queerly Beloved: Pride shorts in the park”, a free program featuring short films from around the world, at Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn.
Other movie options this month are ‘Doll Parts”, the series of five films from Alamo Drafthouse covering 70 years of transgender films, and “Queer Cinema, from top to bottom”, a program of 10 films at the Museum of the Moving Image curated by the critic (and New York Times contributor) Kyle Turner.
Drag yourself
On June 14, the Queens Botanical Garden in Vlissingen organizes “Queens in the garden“ an evening of drag performances for all ages hosted by Marti Cummings and starring Nani Tsunami and Janae SaisQuoi.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race Werq the Worldtour enters the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City on June 17. If you want to support newcomers, the new website is See the queens lets you search by neighborhood or queen.
On June 24, the transvestite Donna Ria Montgomery is emcees Sleep Brunch Bingo bee Lacey’s Bridge Tavern, an Italian restaurant in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Staten Island. Tickets include five bingo cards (but bring your own dauber).
The gay stage
Nora Burns is set in 1979,”The village, a disco daydreamis a show about two men who find love (and sex) through a shared love of the dance floor. It runs through June 23 at Dixon Place.
Strange and country? Gay cowboy mystery manOrville Peck plays the theater at Madison Square Garden on June 20. Queer and classic? Handel and Billy Strayhorn are part of Montclair Early Music’s “Rainbow rhapsodyconcert in Montclair, NJ, on June 25.
New works by Emily Aviles and Júlia Cerqueira are part of the annual Tank Pride Fest (June 16-25). The performance festival highlights work that “celebrates the queer community in its healing,” according to organizers.
Take the kids
Kids and teens can celebrate Pride by getting crafty. Poster House is organizing two on June 2 family-friendly events: through an origami workshop Taro’s origami studio and a poster making course with the designer Acacia Rodriguez.
On June 3, King Manor, a historic house museum in Jamaica, Queens, is hosting a Pride themed afternoon in which children can design rainbow salt dough heart decorations, a popular craft during the Victorian era.
An all ages Pride weekend in the Bronx zoo (June 3-4) includes live music and rainbow flag making classes.