Five of the Best Gay Pride Festivals This Year.
So you have been going to Pride every year
in your home town and it is great. One year, you want to make it special. Why
not take a trip to a major city and attend a major Pride Festival? Better yet,
why not get a whole group together and march in a Pride Parade? Here are a few
of the best Pride Events in the country that should be towards the top of your
list.
Boston
One of the biggest Pride parades in the
country, they had over 25,000 people march in the parade and estimates put the
attendance at over 400,000 last year. Boston Pride will be celebrating its 45
anniversary this year and from June 5-9, 2015 the celebration will be their
biggest yet. In addition to the parade, they will host a Black Pride cruise,
AIDS walk, a diplomatic reception, two block parties, a youth dance and of
course the festival on June 13. Fenway
Park will also host Pride Night at 7 p.m. on June 12.
New
York CIty
The Stonewall riots of 1969 were truly the
beginning of gay community acceptance not just in New York, but across the
country. The following year, the first Pride Parade took place and there has
been no looking back with New York leading the way ever since. This year June
23-28, 2015 is Pride in New York with a family night, a rally, VIP rooftop
party, an all-night party, a dance on the pier, the festival and of course the
parade. The parade had 325 marching groups last year and they boast over
1,000,000 spectators, claiming to be the largest Pride Parade in the world.
Highly sponsored and extremely visible, this is not an event to miss.
San
Francisco
Also celebrating its 45th anniversary this
year, San Francisco Pride will be held June 27-18, 2015. This year they expect
to have over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than twenty community-run
stages during the two day event. They also claim to be the largest LGBT
gathering in the USA, taking place, “at the foot of San Francisco's historic
City Hall where Harvey Milk once stood and addressed Pride-goers more than
thirty years ago.” San Francisco Pride takes its event one step further by
offering services such as float building classes and twinning where they
partner with younger, smaller events in other cities to offer their expertise
and experience. Oh, and by the way,
public nudity is allowed in festivals in San Francisco.
Chicago
This year, Chicago’s 46th Pride take place
from June 20 - 28, 2015 along Chicago's Halsted strip. The entire month of June
is Pride Month in Chicago and events rain down on the city throughout the month
with the parade and festival being the culmination of it. Last year they had
over 50 events before Pride actually started, so no matter when you come to
Chicago in the month of June, expect a party. They hold events for anything
from “Gay Idol” singing competitions to “When Dogs Heal,” an event about how
animals help owners who are living with the emotional and physical ailments of
HIV.
Atlanta
The largest and best (OK, writer’s pick)
Pride festival in the Southeast, Atlanta Pride takes place in October each year
to coincide with national Coming Out Day. In the typical southern fashion of
over indulgence, Atlanta pride consists of three parades. In addition to the
Pride Parade there are also the Trans March and Dyke March, too. Held in Piedmont Park each year, right in the
heart of Midtown, you are a close walk to more than 100 gay-owned or friendly
bars, restaurants, and hotels. The concerts draw huge headliners and the
libations flow freely. The weather in Atlanta in October makes for a beautiful
week to just come out and have fun.