Girl Guide To The Biggest Pride Festival In The World

The Best Girl Parties … And Some Other Ways To Enjoy And Get The Most Of NYC Pride/WorldPride/Stonewall 50 In New York This Week

by Heather Cassell

It’s Pride Week and you’ve just dropped your bags at your hotel or Airbnb and want to join the biggest rainbow party on the planet: New York Pride/WorldPride/Stonewall 50.

It’s quite wet and balmy outside and the New York City streets are steaming up with the summer heat and it’s only going to get hotter. That’s not going to stop you and your friends from having the time of your life in the Big Apple this Pride.

An estimated 4 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people and their friends are descending on the city and ready to party leading up to the world’s largest Pride Parade and celebration on June 30.

The event also marks the first time that World Pride will be hosted in the United States during its 20-year history.

“All eyes will be on New York,” said Cathy Renna, a 53-year-old lesbian native New Yorker who is the media consultant for Heritage of Pride, Inc., which produces NYC Pride. “It’s going to be the largest Pride event ever in history. Period. End of story. Which is extraordinary.”

Stacy Lentz, a 48-year-old lesbian who is a co-owner of the Stonewall Inn, agreed saying that the “whole city is going to come together to celebrate.”

“It’s going to be amazing,” she continued noting that “This is where the fight began. The whole entire city offers something special because of what happened here in 1969.”

On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, but rather than the usual scramble, catch, and arrest LGBT people fought back. The initial uprising lasted for six days, but 50 years later visitors from around the world come to Stonewall to honor what happened in the bar that fateful night that ignited a movement.

LGBT communities continue to be inspired to stand up for their rights launching Pride celebrations in cities and small towns around the world.

Cathy called the Stonewall Inn the “epicenter.”

“The Stonewall Inn has always been that kind of epicenter for us,” said Cathy noting that this week’s events are a “great opportunity for people to explore their queer history wherever they are from.”

“Telling the Stonewall story about what happened in 1969 is a critical element,” added Stacy. “I think that through all these events and through all the events at WorldPride having everything being told here is going to be incredible to keep that story alive and keep reminding people that it’s okay to be gay.”

The women said despite the progress made being visible remains important.

“There is still very much the sense that gathering and being visible is really still important and it’s still very political,” Cathy said about Pride, noting the state of LGBT rights in the United States and around the world Stonewall 50 is more relevant than ever.

“We are celebrating history, but we are also talking about resistance still, equality still,” agreed Stacy. “I think that we need to start looking for what’s going to come out of this where are we going as a community on a global level.”

New York and all of the five boroughs are celebrating, so there is something for everyone at hundreds of events throughout the greater New York area.

You and your friends are one of the millions. Now, where are all of the queer girls in New York City?

Girls That Roam has got your back girlfriend. Here is our planner of what to do during this fun-filled week starting Wednesday – that’s right, forget about hump day and just get the weekend started:

Day 1: Take In Some History

Start your day off by stopping by the newly opened WorldPride Welcome Center at 112 Christopher St. The popup visitors’ center offers a variety of information from how to get around New York to suggestions for where to eat, where to party, what sites to visit, and more. Better yet, it sets you up for a historical day as it is right around the corner from the historic Stonewall Inn and the Stonewall National Monument.

You can’t go to NYC Pride without stopping in at the inn and visiting the monument. This is why you are here, today, in New York. It is where the LGBTQI movement was ignited and continues to inspire LGBTQI communities around the world to march for their rights and celebrate Pride. The inn and monument made history again in 2016 when then President Barack Obama designated the monuments as the first LGBTQI national monument.

Take a tour or escape the heat learning about New York’s queer history.

Tour Greenwich Village learning about the historic gayborhood with one of three tours: Beyond Stonewall: LGBT History, which is a 2-hour tour, or a 1-hour tour Pride Tours NYC’s Walking Tour.

Alternately, get off of the streets at New York’s Public Library exhibit, Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50, commemorating the Stonewall Riots with a curated retrospective looking at the revolutionary uprising and five decades of LGBTQI activism with its retrospective.

Hungry? Grab a burger at the quirky and fun Cowgirl, a Village burger joint with an urban cowgirl vibe – as its name indicates.

For a more romantic vibe before or after the theater, get serenaded by a live pianist in an intimate 1930s Parisian setting while dining on American-French cuisine at Chez Josephine. The restaurant located along Theater Row is an ode to Josephine Baker, the black American-born entertainer and activist, who adopted France as her home for a majority of her life.

Spend the night on Broadway with the seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical, “The Prom.” The two-hour and 25 minutes perky story with a bite about an Indiana teen, Emma, who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom takes audiences to another place and experience leaving them thinking and happily moved by the time they walk out of the theater. The curtain will go down on the musical on August 11, so what better time to see it than now?

Grab a nightcap drink at New York’s longest running lesbian bar Henrietta Hudson in the Village.

Day 2: Beyond The Village

Start your day off with a ride across the Hudson aboard the Staten Island Ferry snapping pictures and video of the Statue of Liberty along the way to Staten Island. Here on the island, you will find The Alice Austin House and The Audre Lorde Residence.

The Austin House was the residence of Alice Austin, a turn of the 20th century socialite and documentary photographer, who shared the house with her partner.

Black lesbian-feminist poet, author, activist Audre, who co-founded the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press around the kitchen table in the modest home, lived in the house with her partner Frances Clayton and their two children.

For lunch, let the grandma’s cook for you at this Italian wine bar and restaurant serving up Italian favorites alongside global cuisine at Enoteca Maria.

Alternately, head uptown to Harlem to celebrate the centennial of the Harlem Renaissance and learn about the 10th annual Harlem Pride happening on June 29.

The Harlem Renaissance, then known as the New Negro Movement, was an explosion of black artists, intellectuals and writers during the 1920s, many of whom identified as LGBTQI. Learn about some of the renowned and hidden queer Harlem Renaissance participants included bisexual anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston, lesbian playwright and teacher Angelina Weld Grimké; and lesbian poet, short story writer, and teacher Alice Dunbar-Nelson among their gay male counterparts.

The commemoration isn’t hosting any events to commemorate Stonewall 50, according to its calendar of events, catch the exhibit of feminist sculptor Augusta Savage.

For lunch, if uptown, grab some downhome soul food with the “Queen of Soul Food” Sylvia Woods at Sylvia’s or support Harlem born chef Yvette Leeper-Bueno who owns and operates Vinateria with her all-woman team creating modern European influenced cuisine. Yvette support’s other women-owned businesses by buying their small-batch spirits and wines.

Heading back downtown, stop off in Midtown and cool off stepping into the air conditioning at CNN’s New York studio for the Queer City: A CNN Experience. The exhibit takes audiences on a journey through the city’s queer evolution from the 1940s through only today.

If back in the Village, grab an oyster snack at Pearl Oyster Bar, especially during the $1 oyster happy hour or head over to the Chelsea Pier to sample.

In the evening, go beyond the borders of the United States to understand what it’s like to be LGBTQI around the world at the Criminal Queerness Festival. The festival showcases the top queer plays from around the world highlighting the struggles and the fight for equality for LGBTQI people in the Global South.

Enjoy a Sapphic bite for dinner at the lesbian-couple-owned Mediterranean influenced restaurant Via Carota in the Village.

Day 3: Explore Queer Gotham

In the late morning, step into the modern fight for LGBTQI rights with the Human Rights Campaign’s discussion, Stonewall at 50: The State of LGBTQ Rights, about the state of the Equality Act.

For lunch, head to the East Village to woman-owned Prune Restaurant. There will be a line if you weren’t able to make a reservation ahead of time, but the wait is worth it to dig into Gabrielle Hamilton’s much-acclaimed dishes that she serves up at the restaurant.

After lunch, stroll through the East Village to shop for some gender-fluid duds at the Phluid Project or attend one of the store’s Pride events and Wildfang’s Soho shop. Pick up a good summer read for your travels home after the big celebration at Bluestockings Bookstore.

In the evening, splurge on the Savor Pride master chefs event where queer chefs Renee Blackman, Julia Turshen, and other masters of the kitchen present their savory dishes.

As twilight falls, celebrate the present by get your groove on the dance floor or catch the beat at a music festival. Choose your party: take over Stonewall, party on the Hudson, or dance your hear out at these parties.

Sail around the Hudson River past New York’s famous sites aboard the SeaTea Cruise.

The girls will take over the Stonewall Inn for the long-running all-girl dance party at Lesbo-A-Go-Go. Girls pack the dance floor with DJ Kristine B and guests spinning the beats while sexy go-go’s entice dancers out onto the floor to get their groove on at the historic bar.

Cross the bridge to funky and fun Brooklyn to rock out at Ladyland, a 2-days long concert featuring more than 20 queer artists led by Gossip and Honey Dijon.

Day 4: The Calm Before The Party

Sleep in and catch brunch at Westville Chelsea or try New York’s latest food trend Chino Latino at Calle Dao Chelsea. The menu offers a combination of Chinese and Cuban dishes.

Spend a relaxing day strolling along the Highline, through the Village, and observing the exhibits at the Whitney Museum.

Grab an early dinner pizza at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, German fare at The Standard Biergarten, or a selection of food at the Gansevoort Market. where you can also get an ice cream cone at Big Gay Ice Cream for dessert.

Do some shopping for unique handcrafted fashions and souvenirs at the Hester Street Fair.

Then head up to Bryant Park for an empowering march. Be a part of the queer girl power as thousands of women march down 5th Avenue in the Dyke March in New York.

After the march, dance into the night at Siren or Teaze.

Join 2,000 of your new best friends and party hosts Harlem Globetrotter Crissa Ace and “Real L Word” star and former frontwoman of Hunter Valentine Kiyomi Valentine dancing to the sounds spun by DJs Whitney Day, Tatiana, and M.O. Moby frontwoman Mindy Jones will give a live performance at Henrietta Hudson’s biggest girl party, Siren, on the Hudson River.

Dance into the night at Teaze, which brings together five of New York’s best queer parties for all bodied people.

Day 5: The Big Day!

March or stake your claim on the sidelines, whatever you do, show your Pride.

The parade kicks off at 12 p.m. at 26th Street and 5th Avenue at Madison Square Park. More than 550 contingents and more than 100 floats are anticipated to wind its way through the Big Apple past significant landmarks in New York’s LGBTQI movement ending at 23rd Street and 7th Avenue on June 30.

This parade will truly scream, “We are here. We are queer. Get used to it!” with rainbows and glitter for all the world to see.

Then Grammy award-winning rocker Melissa Etheridge will turn up the sound in Times Square until 10 p.m. for the big blow out WorldPride Closing Ceremony.

Other performances at the closing ceremonies are comedian Margaret Cho, Jake Shears and MNEK, Broadway hit “The Prom,” Deborah Cox, and more.

You won’t want to miss this. To get the best seat along the parade route stake your claim on a spot several hours before it begins.

If the Parade isn’t your thing, check out PrideFest or join the girls taking over Hudson Street at the Occupy Hudson Street party during Pride. It will be the go-to spot for queer girls ready to celebrate Pride dancing to DJs Tikka Masala, Culi, BK Storm, and Christie as they will party from the afternoon until the 4 a.m. on July 1.

Join the hottest girls in the city at Femme Fatal who will dance into the night at the all-girl rooftop party with DJs Kittens, Mary Mac, Bonnie Beats, Nikki Lions, and Lena spinning the beats atop The Park.

Be Prideful

“This is really going to be a kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity experience,” said Cathy, excited about Stonewall 50.

Stacy said that LGBTQI travelers should visit New York anytime because New Yorker’s are welcoming and the city offers diversity from the people to art and culture, history, and things to do.

“It’s that fabric that doesn’t just make up the rainbow flag but the fabric that makes up the international flag,” said Stacy, about what drew her to New York from a small town in Kansas.

Of course, Stacy said, “Come to Stonewall and visit us.”

Book your next vacation with Girls That Roam Travel. Contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at 415-517-7239 or at .

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