Celebrates Equality In Jackson Hts.
Equality for all is the theme of the 21st Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival scheduled to take place in Jackson Heights this Sunday, June 2.
Friends, families and neighbors of members of the Queens Pride Committee are invited to participate in the event. The parade kicks off at noon from the corner of 37th Avenue and 85th Street, with participants marching west along 37th Avenue to 75th Street.
The festival itself will also begin at noon on Sunday at the corner of 37th Road and 75th Street, close to the concluding point of the parade. Nearly 100 vendors are participating in the festival.
The parade and festival promote pride among and for Queens residents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ).
“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 the Queens Pride Committee.
This year, the parade will honor PRYDE/Make the Road New York as the grand marshal. PRYDE, the LGBTQ Justice Project of Make the Road New York, works to empower LFBTQ communities of Brooklyn and Queens through organizing and education. Its membership is intergenerational, ranging from ages 14 to over 50, and is one of the few city groups founded, led and constituted by low-income LGBTQ people of color organizing around public policy issues that have impacts at the city, state and national levels.
During the parade, 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-which honor the ingenuity and enthusiasm of groups in their demonstration of LGBTQ pride and the theme of the parade and festival- are judged.
At the festival, two stages will feature entertainment throughout the day, capped off with a performance by George LaMond, a Puerto Rican- American freestyle singer known for his 1990 hit “Bad of the Heart.”
A native of the Bronx, LaMond’s musical career began in the sixth grade and has continued over more than two decades. He has received nominations for several awards including “Best Male Pop Vocalist” in 1992 and Best Male R&B Vocalist by the New York Music Awards. He was also presented with a gold record for his album “Entrega.” LaMond was the winner of the 2000 New York Aces Award for Best New Vocalist, the 1991 Winter Music Conference Award for Best Freestyle Singer and a 1991 Best Desi Arnez Vanguard Award.
LaMond recently received a lifetime achievement award from New York’s WKTU-FM. As Hank Krumholz, co-chair of Queens Pride, stated, “We think Mr. LaMond will really get our crowd energized.”
Queens Pride is also collaborating on events to surround the parade and festival this weekend. Tonight (Thursday), May 30, Queens Pride will be joined by Brooklyn Pride, New York City Pride, Out Astoria and Pride Alliance of Long Island at a kick-off party at Studio Square in Long Island City, located at 35-33 36th St. Donations will be accepted at the door and will benefit the Ali Forney Center, which provides housing and social services for LGBTQ youth and hosts centers in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
For more information on Queens Pride, visit www.queenspride.org, or email info@queenspride.org.
