By Dustin Brown
The borough’s annual gay pride parade is never anything short of an international celebration, drawing a multinational guest list of marchers and spectators alike to the streets of Jackson Heights.
But the parade’s 10th anniversary is bringing its multi-ethnic flavor into the forefront with a theme of Pride Worldwide.
The Queens Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Parade and Festival is scheduled to set off Sunday with Borough President Helen Marshall in the lead as its grand marshal, the first time the borough’s leader will appear at the march.
“We never were able to get a borough president to come to our event,” said Hank Krumholz, the media chairman for the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee. “I think it’s something special that Borough President Helen Marshall, not only is she planning to attend the event, but she accepted the title of grand marshal.”
Marshall’s predecessor, Claire Shulman, “always helped us in the background” but never attended the parade in person, Krumholz said.
The international theme was selected by a consortium of gay pride committees around the world called Interpride, and its relevance to Queens is obvious.
“Just as Queens has the most diverse communities, it’s the same thing with the LGBT community,” Krumholz said. “In Queens, we have the most diverse pride. People come from all over. It’s a real multicultural event.”
The parade also is honoring the Gay Officers Action League and Firefighters Lesbian and Gay (FireFLAG/EMS) for their response to the attack on the World Trade Center.
The Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee was created in 1993 to counter local incidents of anti-gay bias and to show residents of Queens that “lesbians and gays are their families, friends and neighbors,” its founder Daniel Dromm said last year.
The parade sets out at 12:30 p.m. from 89th Street and proceeds down 37th Avenue to 75th Street, where it disperses into a street festival on 37th Road between 73rd and 77th streets.
Krumholz said between 75 and 85 vendors were expected to set up tables at the festival, which will run between noon and 7 p.m.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
