Gay Pride NYC: Your complete guide to LGBT events for Pride month
Whether you're gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, it's time to celebrate Gay Pride in NYC. Party at the Pride March, stand up at the Pride Rally, and get down at Pride Week dances and parties.
Tue May 7 2013
New York City Pride March Photograph: Courtesy Heritage of Pride
Gay Pride in NYC means anyone and everyone can let their queer flag fly throughout the month, from Queens to Staten Island. If you're amped up about gay rights at this critical moment in U.S. history, be sure to join the Kickoff Rally, to be held this year at Pier 26 on June 28, or raise your voice at the parades held in four of the boroughs throughtout June (the Bronx celebrates Pride in July). While there is still plenty of work to do, a lot has been achieved since that hot night at the Stonewall more than 40 years ago. So join the protest action at the Dyke March, the party scene at the Dance on the Pier or any number of other queer events all over town. Raise a glass to those who paved the way, and make a toast to a proud tomorrow.
When is Gay Pride 2013?
Gay Pride in New York City happens throughout the month of June, kicking off this year with the Staten Island Pride Parade and Festival on June 1, and culminating with the NYC Pride March on June 30.
Gay Pride official events
Gay Pride: The Pride Kickoff Rally
- Critics choice
- Free
Before the glittery spectacle of the LGBT Pride March and the rest of the Gay Pride Weekend festivities, get pumped up…with a glittery spectacle! This official Gay Pride Weekend opening event started as a "gay power" demonstration with 500 protestors in Washington Square Park, a month after the 1969 Stonewall riots, considered the dawn of the modern gay-rights movement. Since then the Rally has jumped locations all over town, including incarnations in Central Park and East River Park. Big-name performers often take the stage—indie-rocker Oh Land performed in 2011, for example—while local politicians, comedians and other members of the LGBT community offer both serious and silly takes on Pride themes. For newcomers and longtime pride celebrants alike, the Pride Kickoff Rally serves as both a party starter and a reminder that it's not all about partying. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
Gay Pride: NYC Pride VIP Rooftop Party
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
Most official Heritage of Pride events—including the Pride Kick-Off Rally on June 28, and the Dance on the Pier and the LGBT Pride March, both on June 30—have decidedly populist appeal. But for those who feel like cramming into packed events with the partying masses, this rooftop shindig, presented by the official Pride organizer and Rafferty/Mazur Events, offers a more elite alternative. Perch on the lovely Hudson Terrace roof deck and groove to music by DJs Serving Ovahness, Marco da Silva and the extremely legendary Frankie Knuckles while you await a gorgeous sunset over the river. Plan ahead if you want in on the fun—tickets are very limited, and they sold out two weeks in advance last year. Oh, and don't worry about Mother Nature: Hudson Terrace's retractable roof ensures you won't be getting soggy no matter what that bitch throws at us. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
- Hudson Terrace 621 W 46th St, between Eleventh and Twelfth Aves
- Sat Jun 29
Gay Pride: Rapture on the River
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
For years, NYC's queer scene was absurdly compartmentalized—not only were the various initials of LGBT partying separately, there were were enough subcategories (bears! baby dykes! art fags! etc.!) in each group to use up the whole alphabet. Today, we all get along quite well, and mingle regularly at events all over the city—which is awesome! But sometimes we still want to party with people we want to fuck, and people who want to fuck us back. Hence, the tenth annual Rapture on the River women's dance, launched as an alternative to the boy-heavy Dance on the Pier. Happening conveniently after the Dyke March, this year's Rapture features music from DJ Dimples and the immensely popular Whitney Day, a flock of sexy dancers and a sweaty crowd filled with girls who (unlike attendees at that other dance) don't have to worry about work in the morning. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
Gay Pride: NYC Pride March
- Critics choice
- Free
While it's not really offensive to call the NYC Pride March a parade, it's also technically incorrect. The event—which first happened in 1970, marking the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising—is a march for civil rights, not a celebratory parade. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun! Every year, more than a million spectators line Fifth Avenue to take in outlandish costumes, elaborate floats and eye-popping performances. Groups representing the five boroughs and beyond include everything from churches and support groups to social organizations and politicians eager to get out the gay vote. (Expect lots of noise when the increasingly polarizing mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn strolls by.) This year's marshals are Edith Windsor, the woman at the center of one of the landmark gay-rights cases that landed in front of the Supreme Court this year; activist, entertainer and longtime LGBT ally Harry Belafonte; and Center for Black Equity president Earl Fowlkes. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
Gay Pride: Pridefest
- Critics choice
- Free
You know those street fairs that pop up around the city whenever the weather is nice? The ones everyone pretends to hate, but secretly can't resist walking into? Pridefest is one of those—but way gayer! What does that mean, exactly? Probably that there will be a lot of cruising going on, so be mindful of what you imply as you devour your corn-on-a-stick, or dive into a hot MozzArepa. Just kidding! This is a family affair. In addition to enjoying the usual street-fair fare—tube socks, hilarious T-shirts, the aforementioned greasy treats—you can pick up information about public health, collect swag from corporate sponsors, and mingle with a crowd full of Pride revelers and shell-shocked Village residents. After things wrap up here, you can work off some of that cheese at the Dance on the Pier. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
Gay Pride: Pride (Poolside)
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Not up for sweating with hoi polloi at the March and Pridefest? Even though those masses are kind of the point of NYC Pride, the hot late-June weather can turn even a seasoned activist into an agoraphobe. Heritage of Pride understands, and this year, for the first time, the official Pride organizer is offering up this relaxed alternative to all the mayhem in the Village. Produced in partnership with the folks at the U.K. record label Hed Kandi—famed for its popular themed dance-music compilations—this intimate gathering invites revelers to put on their sexiest swimwear and relax at the Hôtel Americano's swanky sun deck. Even if you don't feel like hopping in the water, there will be plenty of sexy eye candy to keep you amused until it's time to wander over to the Dance on the Pier—or wherever it is the night takes you. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
- Hôtel Americano 518 W 27th St, between Tenth and Eleventh Aves, 10001
- Sun Jun 30
Gay Pride: Dance on the Pier
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
After a stint indoors at Pier 57, Heritage of Pride's official Pride Weekend capper is back where it belongs—under the stars with the skyline glowing to the east, and the Hudson shimmering to the west. Coheadlining DJs Dave Audé and Oscar G—along with up-and-coming local opener Luis Perez—provide big beats sure to keep the huge crowd moving. There's always a variety of live performers (many of who will be announced as the big day approaches), and megastars like Jennifer Lopez and the late Whitney Houston have been known to make surprise appearances over the years. As the dance starts to wind down, cast your eyes to the sky for a fireworks display—for those who don't have to get up early tomorrow, that's your cue to move on and continue the party all over the city well into the night. You'll have no shortage of options. For more information, go to nycpride.org.
Other Gay Pride events
Horse Meat Disco
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Blowoff
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
- Gramercy Theatre 127 E 23rd St, between Park Ave South and Lexington Ave
- Fri Jun 28
Broadway Bares 23: United Strips of America
- Price band: 3/4
- Roseland Ballroom 239 W 52nd St, between Broadway and Eighth Ave
- Sun Jun 23
Gay Pride photos
Gay Pride in the boroughs
Staten Island Pride Parade and Festival
- Critics choice
- Free
The southern borough hosts its Pride parade today, where revelers will break out their freak flags, PFLAGs and every other flag en route to Tompkinsville Park. The party isn't over at parade's end, though; that's where the festival—filled with entertainers, music and other celebratory activities—begins.
- Staten Island
- Sat Jun 1
Past Gay Pride coverage
Pride Parade 101: Your guide to the queer festivities
Whether you're marching in the Gay Pride Parade or cheering the queers from the sidelines, you'll want a good strategy for making the most out of the big day.
40 things you don't know about Gay Pride
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, we found more queer factoids than you can shake a rainbow flag at.
Gay Pride history lesson: LGBT sites in NYC
Gay Pride isn't just about partying. Find out why we celebrate at these historic locations.
