Queens Pride welcomes our friends, families, and neighbors to celebrate the 21st Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival on Sunday, June 2 with a host of activities to promote pride among and for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) community of Queens and beyond. Again this year, banners announce the 37th Avenue route of the Parade and Festival.
“Our theme, ‘Equality. Everyday. Everyone.’ acknowledges the extremely important decisions before the Supreme Court on marriage equality and the hard work that our New York legislature must do to provide full equality to transgender peoples,” said Chris Calvert, Co-chair of Queens Pride.
This year, the parade will honor PRYDE/Make the Road NY as a Grand Marshal. PRYDE, the LGBTQ Justice Project of Make the Road NY, works to empower LGBTQ communities of Brooklyn and Queens through organizing and education. Its membership is intergenerational, ranging from ages 14 to 50+. It is one of the few New York City groups founded, led and constituted by low-income LGBTQ people of color organizing around public policy issues that have impacts at the citywide, state and national levels.
The Parade will kick-off at 12PM at 85th Street and 37th Avenue, ending at 75th Street. Marcus Woolen and Candy Samples will again host a reviewing stand in front of the Jackson Heights Post Office, which is where the Queenie Awards are judged. The awards honor the ingenuity and enthusiasm of groups in their demonstration of LGBTQ pride and the theme of this year’s event.
The Festival begins at 12PM with nearly 100 vendors along 37th Road and 75th Street. Two stages will feature entertainment throughout the day. The festival will cap off with a performance by George LaMond. When you hear the name George LaMond, you think of songs like “Bad of the Heart,” ”Don’t Stop Believen,” and “Si Tu Te Vas.” A Bronx native, LaMond’s musical career began in the 6th grade, where he and school mates discovered he can sing. LaMond’s career spans more than two decades, and he has received nominations for several distinctive awards, including “Best male Pop Vocalist” in 1992 and Best Male R & B Vocalist by the New York Music awards. He was also presented a gold record for the album “Entrega,” He was winner in the 2000 New York Ace Awards for Best New Vocalist, the 1991 Winter Music Conference Award for Best Freestyle Singer, and a 1991 Best Desi Arnez Vanguard Award. He recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from New York’s WKTU. Hank Krumholz, Co-Chair of Queens Pride says, “We think Mr. LaMond will really get our crowd energized!”
World Liberty TV was on hand and interviewed Daniel Dromm, the Founder of Queens Pride and also the council member for the same district. We asked him about the hate crimes against the LGBTQ Community, which are happening more than ever before. See what Mr. Dromm had to say about this topic and what is being done to prevent such crimes.
