Buffalo Pride
The first Gay Pride march was on June 28, 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion in New York a year earlier--a rebellion resulting from police harassment of the gay community. The Stonewall Rebellion was like a gay Watts, a rallying point which helped end the clandestine gay movement of the 50s and 60s and brought about a much more vocal, visible, and organized one.
Today, Prides have become an annual ritual and have grown to include thousands of gay and gay-friendly participants, not to mention hundreds of spectators. Gays in several cities and countries participate in annual parades, festivals and events collectively called Pride. Most Prides occur over a few days, a few span an entire week and are filled with dances, volunteer and social events and highly publicized parades.
And Buffalo is no exception. Our Pride Weekend began with a The Party at the New Tralf--an inaugural evening of dancing and revelry. You can see for yourself yesterdayis Dyke March that went from Utica down Elmwood to Bidwell Park. And Buffalo Pride culminated today with The Parade. Line up began at 11 a.m. in the Kleinhans Music Hall parking lot and over 40 groups, organizations, floats and many others began marching promptly at 1 p.m. The parade proceeded east on North St., then continued north on Elmwood Ave. to Bidwell Park.
Many in the parade as well as the audience were dressed in bright colors--some in leather head-to-toe. Regardless of the attire, all the participants joined the festivities to remind the world that gays deserve the same rights as others and people should be free to live their own lifestyle, void of judgement or hate. It was also a symbol of solidarity and an opportunity to express the vivid personalities which reflect the diverse gay communities throughout Buffalo.
We came back home to post this slideshow, but after the parade in Bidwell Park thereis a huge line up of events and international, national and local entertainment. And,of course, there will be lots of dancing at the cocktail pavilion.
Pretty cool.
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