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Queens Pride: What You Need to Know

If you're passionate about celebrating LGBTQ pride and are curious about its manifestation in New York City, Queens Pride is a must-attend event. Here's a comprehensive guide on what you need to know about this vibrant celebration.

Queens Pride has returned since the pandemic last year. It is returning to its former glory and importance. But, what do you think of when you think of Queens Pride? When you hear the Queen you may not be sure what to think of exactly. However, the exact meaning is more about the Queens Pride Parade. Queen has a lot of different meanings to people based on how important this event is for anyone involved.

What is important to know is that the Queens Pride Parade is a Multicultural Festival. It is the second oldest and second largest pride parade in New York City, so it has special significance.

Queens in New York is special. Queens also represents the biggest transgender hub in the Western hemisphere for LBGTQ people. Right now, Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world as well, so this pride is special.

What is the Queens Pride?

Queens Pride refers to the Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival, which is the second oldest and second largest pride parade in New York City. The event is held annually on the first Sunday in June in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City.

The parade was founded by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez in 1993 to raise the visibility of the LGBTQ community in Queens and memorialize Jackson Heights resident Julio Rivera. The parade's organizer, the Queens Lesbian & Gay Pride Committee (Queens Pride), is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit volunteer organization founded in 1992.

  • Location: All Queens Pride parades have been held in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City. The parade route runs along 37th Road.
  • History: Annual June Pride Parades have occurred since 1993. Winter Pride events began more recently starting in 2018.
  • Attendance: Estimated thousands attend each parade, but exact numbers are unknown publicly.
  • 2020-2021: Recent parades were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with events going virtual.
  • 2022: Queens Pride returned as an in-person parade & festival which celebrated the 30th anniversary.
  • Organizers: Queens Pride events are organized entirely by the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee.
  • Significance: The parade promotes LGBTQ equality and visibility within the large Queens LGBTQ community.

Queens Pride 2024

The start date for Queens Pride 2024 has not been finalized, and the information is not available yet. However, based on previous years, it is likely to be held on the first Sunday in June, which would be June 2, 2024. The event typically takes place in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, with the parade route running along 37th Avenue from 89th Street to 75th Street.

Please note that this information is subject to change, and it is recommended to check for updates closer to the event date.

Pride parade 2023

queens pride 2023

The event is held religiously on the first Sunday of June every year. Mark your calendars for the 31st anniversary of Queens Pride, which will be celebrated on Sunday, June 4th, 2023. The parade route is also fairly consistent, running from 89th Street to 75th Street along 37th Avenue, with the festival culminating at 75th Street and 37th Road.

Where Queens pride 2023

Additionally, the event has seen a meteoric rise in its attendees. The first-ever Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival saw an estimated 10,000 attendees. Fast forward to 2023, the 31st Annual Queens Pride Parade boasted over 30 schools marching, with more than 400 New York City students, a staggering 10,000-15,000 marchers, and an audience of over 50,000 people.

Other Resources and Platforms

Moreover, apart from the parade and festival, Queens Pride House serves as a community center offering resources and support for the LGBTQ community in Queens. Those wishing to stay updated with the latest happenings can follow Queens Pride on their official Instagram @queenspridenyc.

  • Offical Website: https://newqueenspride.org
  • Formerly Offical Website: http://queenspride.org

Goals of Queen Pride

The more holistic and beneficial aims are meant to promote understanding and peace between people of all different backgrounds. More, with Queens Pride it is meant for the streets, the crowds and the floats to commemorate and celebrate love.

In this parade, the element of love is different from the Queen's parade. The theme of gay acceptance is the theme and goal. Why? It is because parade attendees are usually dancing  along 37th Avenue in New York to performances showing support and motivation.

What the Queen pride represents is tolerance. For example, you will see the rainbow flag. What does this mean? The symbol of the rainbow flag is powerful. Because the rainbow colors of the flag have meaning. You will see colors for marching bands, dancers and performers represented on the flags and rainbows waving in the parade.

Queens Pride Facts and Figures

The Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival is very important for New York and the USA for the LBGTQ community. Why? Historically, the Queens is the second oldest pride gathering in New York state and one of the oldest in the USA. It is also the second largest pride parade in New York City.

The Queens pride is held annually in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights, which is in New York city. The Queens pride brings together people of the community to feel and be free every year. Queens Pride draws strength from hate and division to form unity and spread awareness and education.

Why is Queen's Pride important?

All of this was a reaction to a murder in 1992. The hate crime fury and as well homophobic outcry over the inclusion of gay and lesbian content in the Children of the Rainbow curriculum is what inspired Queens Pride.

Queens Pride offers a solution to problems that have existed a long time and need to be remedied. For example, Queens pride is aimed to spread and give people answers. More importantly, information about gay rights that forges knowledge and understanding of the culture of  lesbians, gay people, bisexuals, and transgender communities in general.

Queens Pride has a lot of historical value for a community in New York. Why? Because Queens offers a lot in terms of support and making people feel comfortable. The whole goal of Queens is to educate the public at large about the history of the LBGTQ movement.

Values of Respect and Tolerance

Queens Pride values and pushes for self-respect and equal treatment for people of the same sex overall. Peace and understanding is key. Moreover, when you think about this, Queens Pride is the basis to make things as powerful and immense as possible for bringing people together for Queens Pride.

Moreover,  We create and support activities commemorating events of importance within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The aspect of respect and alliance is the very hallmark of the Queens project.

In the past, the Queens Pride and allies from Queens and all over New York, had the aim to seek and share to promote pride. The promotion of Queens Pride was key. All in all, the visibility, and acceptance following years of homophobic hate crimes and discrimination is what pushed this event and made people organize.

QUEENS PRIDE – ABOUT US & HISTORY

The story starts back in the early 1990s. All of these things began to manifest by this decade. The history of Queens in this timeframe is a new development and change. For example, Queen Pride began to take place and go forward in 1993 as a starting point. From there,  the inaugural Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival took place over time to bring together people.

A lot of controversy has happened due to recent trends in the USA. However, Queens pride still holds a place for people and society. The parade lives on but it was the background and past that means the most.

The original Queen Pride was organized and founded by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez in the past. In general, the parade was helping to join together a diverse and large group of LGBT people and characters. LBGT people are the letters or abbreviation that stand for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender”.

LGBT is a force that exists to unite people together. LBGT also brings together forms and variants, functions as an umbrella term for many people and maligned groups with specific sexual and gender confusion and identities.

Background of Queen Pride

Firstly, let's delve into the roots of the event. The Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival is the second oldest and second largest pride parade in New York City. It was founded by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez in 1993 to raise the visibility of the LGBTQ community in Queens, especially memorializing Jackson Heights resident Julio Rivera. No doubt, it's been a beacon of hope and celebration for the LGBTQ community in Queens and the surrounding areas ever since.

QUEENS PRIDE promotes awareness and education among and of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community of Queens, New York.

Our founders were provoked to organize the QUEENS PRIDE parade and festival by the murder of Julio Rivera and discrimination in our local schools.These events brought the LGBTQ community of Queens together to achieve respect, and in doing so, identified a need to take advocacy to the streets.

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Our first Queens Pride march was held in 1993, and since, our parade and festival have grown tremendously. We now attract more than 40,000 spectators and are the second largest Pride celebration in the New York metropolitan area. Queens Pride continues to promote the visibility and accomplishments of the LGBT community and to foster acceptance by the many cultures and religions represented in our borough.

In addition to the parade and festival, our group works to foster youth, cultural, and social programming and to engage our elected officials on issues pertinent to the LGBT community. We host various programs, community outreach and our Winter Pride Dinner Dance.

Many volunteers and dedicated individuals help to bring about the annual parade and festival along with the other programs and events throughout the year.

The Queens Lesbian & Gay Pride Committee, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in the State of New York.

Pride parade 2020

Virtual Pride 2020

Parade & Festival:  Sunday, June 7, 2020

RAIN OR SHINE

Queens Pride, the organizer of the 2020 Pride Parade and Festival held in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY, welcomes you to celebrate the 28th parade and festival. First held in 1993, the fight for social justice and the celebration of community continues with this wonderful display of visibility and pride.

Over the years the parade and festival have grown and evolved to where today, we help to connect people within the community to various equality, social justice, health and educational organizations. With this outreach, the benefits are immeasurable in the many ways people have been helped to be themselves and live better lives.

We depend on your support, our fantastic volunteers and the dedicated members of Queens Pride who spend many hours to organize this event, and more, each year.

Where

Parade:  37th Avenue from 89th Street to 75th Street. Kick-off at 12 noon. Reviewing stand at 37th Avenue between 79th and 80th Streets.

Festival:  75th Street and 37th Road. Queens Pride and Club Evolution stages provide entertainment throughout the afternoon, beginning at 12pm and ending at 6pm. Vendors, food and informative business, community and social group booths are located throughout the festival site.

Pride Parade 2019

This is the photo I took when I attended the Pride Parade 2019

pride parade 2019

Pride Parade 2018

The 26th Annual Queens Pride Parade took place on June 3, 2018, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City. The parade started at 37th Avenue and 89th Street and marched to 75th Avenue

pride-parade-2018

Pride Parade 2017

The 25th Annual Queens Pride Parade occurred on June 4, 2017, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City. The parade route was from 37th Avenue and 89th Street to 37th Road and 75th Street

Pride Parade 2016

The Queens Pride Parade & Festival was held on June 5, 2016, on 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights. The parade started at 89th Street and ended at 75th Street

Pride Parade 2015

The 23rd Queens Pride Parade and Festival took place on June 7, 2015, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City

Pride Parade 2014

The Queens Pride Parade occurred on June 1, 2014, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City

Pride Parade 2013

The Queens Pride Parade took place on June 2, 2013. The parade started at 85th Street and 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights and ended at 75th Street

Pride Parade 2012

The 20th annual Queens Pride Parade & Multicultural Festival took place on June 3, 2012, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City. The parade started at 84th Street and 37th Avenue and ended at 75th Street

Location Today of Queen Pride

This parade is now located in the predominantly  gay neighborhood of Jackson Heights in New York City. All in all, the Queens pride  was the first such event to be organized in a neighborhood or areas outside the more gay-tolerant Manhattan.

The aim is to educate and to show children tolerance of all of New York City’s diverse communities of differing sexual and gender backgrounds. The borough’s Community is strong to support an openly gay official in government and promote unity.  In conclusion, the Queens Pride is a family-friendly parade that promotes LGBT visibility and pride, and in a neighborhood where many closeted gay people may live..

The New Queens Pride and Festival is produced by the LGBT Network

The LGBT Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is a home and voice for LGBT people, their families, and support systems in Long Island and Queens.

Our three LGBT community centers help LGBT people to be themselves, stay healthy, and change the world.

Since 1993, we have been pioneering advocacy and social change to create safe space for LGBT people where they live, learn, work, play, and pray.

A Few Notes

Lastly, while the event celebrates the vibrancy of the LGBTQ community, it's also worth noting that recent data on attendance might be affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on events in the preceding years.

This guide is crafted to offer a comprehensive view of Queens Pride. Whether you're an attendee, a supporter, or someone just curious about the event, this guide is designed to be your compass. Celebrate love, pride, and unity in Queens!