Stonewall Was a Riot! NYC GLBT Pride Events 2009

Ok, Pride month is well underway. This year I totally missed Queens Pride yet again. They just have theirs so damn early in the month. Next year I'm going to have to check it out.

I keep forgetting that New York celebrates Pride all month long! It shouldn't be a surprise considering Pride started in New York City. Pride Day commemorates the Stonewall Riots that took place in New York City's Greenwich Village 40 years ago.

The Stonewall Riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations sparked by a police raid (which were routine at the time) that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village. It was just one raid too many. The largely poor, working class, Black and Latino queers and trannies in the Village, many of whom were hustlers and homeless queer youth, fought back against the brutally homophobic police with bricks, bottles, barricades and burning garbage. This spontaneous uprising against state sponsored repression, which lasted several days, led to the modern Gay Rights/Queer Liberation movement in the US and around the world.

Today GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall Riots. Unfortunately Gays and Lesbians have become a "marketing demographic" and Pride is for sale to the highest bidder. Worse yet, the concerns of the transgender community are pushed to the back burner and assimilationist Gays and Lesbians are often embarrassed by all the "freaks and deviants" who "make Gays look bad." The crossdressers, the transvestites, the transsexuals, the leatherfags, the butch dykes, the bdsm/kink community, the hustlers and the homeless queer youth. Those in the community that are most at risk for job and housing discrimination, gaybashing and other hate crimes. You know, the types of people who 40 years ago had enough of all the hatred and oppression and fought back, thus sparking the rebellion that led to the modern Gay Rights movement in the first place.

Let's never forget why we celebrate.

Here's a schedule I've compiled of some of the coolest, and queerest Pride events for the month of June. Enjoy. And remember to play safe...


Brooklyn Pride
brooklynpride.org

Saturday June 13th 2009
Prospect Park at Bartel-Pritchard Circle
15th Street and Prospect Park West

Multicultural Festival
11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Night Pride Parade
7:30 pm Kick Off


NYC Pride (Manhattan)
NYC Herritage of Pride

The Rally
Saturday June 20th 2009
2:00 – 6:00 pm
42nd St. and 6th Ave. at Bryant Park

Pridefest
Sunday June 28th 2009
11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Hudson St. between Abingdon Sq. and West 14th St.

The March
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
Starts at Noon
5th Avenue and 52nd St. to Christopher and Greenwich St.


Other Pride Events...


That's My Jam!
Bed-Stuy/Brooklyn Queer Pride!
Saturday June 13, 2009
$5 before midnight, $10 after midnight
Sputnik Bar
262 Taaffe Place
TWO FLOORS OF DANCING, $3 Vodka Specials. DJ Helen Harris, DJ Tikka Masala and DJ Designer Imposter, New Wave Karaoke with Bobby Service and Black Waterfall. Intimate, monthly mixed queer party.

Get Laid Queer Dance Party
BK Pride Edition
Saturday june 13, 2009
9:30 pm door. $10 cover.
Southpaw Brooklyn
125 5th Ave, Park Slope
Please donate books, media, zines, and more to a literary grassroots collective! WRITTEN W(HER)D is an upcoming Brooklyn-based lending library and book collective for womyn, girls, & LGBTQ people/youth of color. As part of the collective, WRITTEN W(HER)D will develop initiatives fostering literacy among LGBTQ incarcerated youth.

Bronx Pride
Saturday June 20, 11:00 am-8:00 pm
Barretto Point Park

Folsom Street East Pride Day
Sunday, June 21, 2-8pm
28th St. between 10th and 11th Aves.
folsomstreeteast.org
Folsom Street East is New York’s premiere s/m-leather-fetish themed street festival. Folsom Street East is the largest outdoor event of its kind east of the Mississippi and attracts nearly 10,000 visitors. The street will once again be lined with some 50 community groups and vendors that appeal to the LGBT and the kink communities and mobs of leatherclad musclehunks. A one-stop shop for leather gear, porn, and toys.

Stonewall: The Revolution
June 22-28, 2009
Chair & the Maiden
19 Christopher St. (just east of the Stonewall Inn)
Iconic photographs of the Gay Pride Rebellion, March & Parade 1969-2008 by Suzanne Poli celebrating Stonewall’s 40th Anniversary and the evolution of the 21st Century Civil Rights Movement.

Snapshot's Pride Kick-Off Party!
Tuesday June 23, 2009
$5 cover starts at 10 doors at 9.
Located at The Delancey
at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge (btwn Clinton & Attorney)
*snapshot* is a weekly mixed queer party in the city featuring art, music, film, photography, performance + exposure. *snapshot* attracts the most diverse crowd from all boroughs and gender-identities. *snapshot* throws sexy, dirty, crazy parties soundtracked by some of the best dj's among us. Be sure to pick up a flier for their PROUD AS FUCK party to get a discount admission!

SAGE Presents:
40th Anniversary Reunion Gay Liberation Front (GLF)
June 25, 2009, 6:00 pm
LGBT Community Center
208 West 13th St
A panel and 40 year reunion reception for the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) which was founded in Manhattan in 1969, directly following the Stonewall riots will be presented by SAGE. The panel will feature several speakers from a variety of perspectives who were active participants in GLF.

FIERCE Presents
Outdoor Screening of Paris Is Burning!
June 25 2009, 8:30pm FREE
Pier 46 on the Hudson River Park
FIERCE is a membership-based organization for LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13-24. FIERCE will be screening Paris Is Burning, a documentary that focuses on the ballroom community. This screening marks the first ever LGBTQ programming on the pier which is a victory for FIERCE's Safe Space Saves Lives Campaign! Organizations such as FIERCE and other LGBTQ specific groups will be tabling at this event. All are welcome!

Switch N' Play
June 25 2009, 9:00 pm $10
Burlesque at the Beach at Sideshows at the Seashore
at the corner of Surf Avenue & West 12th Street
in the heart of the Coney Island amusement park.
Switch N' PlaySwitch N' Play (SNP) is a Brooklyn-born, New York-based drag alliance committed to entertaining its audiences with an eclectic repertoire of dance and theatrical numbers. Queer in every sense of the word, SNP spans the gender spectrum in life and on stage.

TransJustice of the Audre Lorde Project's
5th ANNUAL TRANS DAY OF ACTION
Friday June 26th 2009
Rally 3:00 pm, March 4:00 pm
Gather at Union Square West between 14th Street and 15th Street
(West Side of Union Square Park)
Marching to Sheridan Square/Christopher Park
(Across the Street from the Stonewall Inn)
Audre Lorde project
On June 26, 2009, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color and allies will take to the streets of NYC once again and demand justice to let the world know, that on the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, the rebellion is not over and we will continue fighting for justice, raising our voices until we are heard.

Dyke Rock Benefit Show
Friday, June 26, 2009
Doors at 8:00 pm. $5-10
Silent Barn
915 Wyckoff Avenue, Ridgewood
L to Halsey or M to Myrtle/Wyckoff
Carnal Knowledge, your favorite local all-girl political hardcore band reunites. Also: Zombie Dogs, The Diamond Sea, Ina Ina!, and Brilliant Colors.

NYC Dyke March
Saturday June 27, 2009
Step Off 5:00 pm Sharp!
Bryant Park
West 42nd St and 6th Ave.
The Dyke March is for women only. Supporters can cheer them on from the sidelines.
"The Dyke March is a protest march, not a parade -- we don't ask for a permit, because we have the right to protest. As lesbians, we recognize that we must organize amongst ourselves to fight for our rights, our safety, and for visibility. Thousands of dykes take over the streets every year in celebration of lesbians and to protest against ongoing discrimination, harassment, and anti-lesbian violence in schools, on the job, in our families, and on the streets."

Post Dyke March Spectacular at Ginger’s
Saturday June 27, 2009
8:00 pm. $5-10
Ginger’s Bar
363 5th Avenue, Park Slope
F to 4th Avenue, R to 9th Street
Party for your right to fight! Chrissy P spins the shiz to make you dance hard. Tasty shots for the girls and $3.50 pints of Guinness all night.

Bluestockings Queer Pride Showcase
Sunday June 28th, 2009 7:00 pm
$5-10 Suggested Donation
Bluestockings Bookstore, Fair-Trade Cafe and Activist Center
Lower East Side of Manhattan
172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington
It’s Queer Pride in New York, and tonight we’ve got some of New York’s most innovative, provocative, and powerful LGBTQ authors and spoken word artists. It’s 40-years after Stonewall, but pride and struggle are still with us! Reading and performing tonight are Kelli Dunham, Kestryl Cael, Felecia Luna Lemus, Taueret Manu, Sassafras Lowrey and Kay Barrett.

Snapshot's Proud as Fuck Party!
Sunday June 28, 2009
Doors at 6pm (till 4am)
Two for One drinks from 6-9pm
$15/$10 with Flyer
Located at The Delancey
at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge (btwn Clinton & Attorney)
*snapshot* is a weekly mixed queer party in the city featuring art, music, film, photography, performance + exposure. *snapshot* attracts the most diverse crowd from all boroughs and gender-identities. 6 DJ's handpicked from around the world all night long featuring DJ SVETA, DJ LAUREN FLAX, DJ ROZE ROYCE, DJ NOA D, DJ TEASE, final surprise DJ TBA.

HOT! Festival
July 2 - August 25, 2007
Dixon Place
This summer festival has been happening every July since 1991, and it includes full length and shorter works in performance, music, theater, dance, literature, poetry, spoken word, puppetry, burlesque, drag, and circus.

Snapshot's Pride Hangover Party!
Tuesday June 30, 2009
$5 Cover at 10:00 pm Doors at 9:00 pm.
Located at The Delancey
at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge (btwn Clinton & Attorney)
*snapshot* is a weekly mixed queer party in the city featuring art, music, film, photography, performance + exposure. *snapshot* attracts the most diverse crowd from all boroughs and gender-identities. with DJ Mary Mac. 3 floors with live performances in the basement and an amazing all-year round, heated, beautiful roofdeck.