11 Hours of Pride NYC – Watching and Marching – a Photo Diary

 

 

11:30am – Ed and I perched ourselves at 17th Street and 5th avenue to await the start of the 50th NYC Pride march at noon.  At 3pm we were scheduled to assemble with the Quaker contingent to join the march.  That alone told us it would be a particularly long Pride march this year, not surprising since it is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that sparked the modern Gay Rights movement and the yearly Pride marches on the last day of June.

But this Pride march, and our part in it, would last even longer than expected, much longer.

 

 

The march begins.  As is traditional, the “Dykes on Bikes” roll by first.

 

Germany’s Pride contingent included eight or more Angela Merkel drag queens:

 

Mayor Bill De Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray

I wrote about the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps.

 

See the “Muller Report” drag queen at the right?  Her backside was “clASSified”.

Note that the Chechen protester kept his face masked for his own protection.

 

Around 2:30pm we left to get lunch and make our way to the Quaker gathering spot by 3pm.

 

28th street between Madison and Park, one of many blocks used to gather marchers before they join the parade.  Here is the Quaker car:

 

In the past I have marched with Bisexual groups.  But nowadays I join my Quaker husband Ed with his Tribe.  Did you know Quakers gave shelter and handed out sandwiches to Stonewall rioters, and were the first religious group to officially march in the Gay Pride parade its very first year?

I love these enormous puppets of Gay activist heroes.

 

The girl with the wings will later do cartwheels all through the parade:

 

Ed posted this pic on Facebook with the caption: “When do we move?”  My intent expression is more likely about scanning the crowd for more opportunities for photography.  Nonetheless, it did turn 5pm and we still hadn’t been threaded into the march.  And we were then told we wouldn’t until 7:15pm.

Ed and I decided to go watch some more of the parade and return two hours later. This time we perched at 23rd Street and 5th avenue.

 

 

At 7pm we returned to the gathering spot.  The Gay Hero puppets were still waiting, as were the rest of the assembled on 26th street.

 

It was getting late.  The sun was setting.

 

Below, the moment, around 8:30pm, we were told we were finally joining the march.

 

Turning onto 5th avenue.

 

9pm.  The march had been going for 9 hours already.  The crowd had thinned a bit now, what with it getting dark and all, but many hardy, cheering onlookers remained.

 

Quaker tots blowing bubbles out of the sun roof of the Quaker car.

 

The World Trade Center and its rainbow lit spire.

Our very own Quaker Cartwheeler turns 6-10 cartwheels per block, for over a hundred cartwheels over the course of the parade.  This young lady generates a lot of cheers (and is nearly impossible to photograph in action in low light).

Quakers turning onto 8th street; and talking to onlookers.

 

Finally we reach Christopher Street.  The onlookers were the most enthusiastic here.

 

The Stonewall:

 

Then back up 7th avenue, which at this time of night, past 10pm, had a few desolate stretches.  Which didn’t however deter the Quaker Cartwheeler!

 

The Empire State Building, in rainbow colors.

 

On the subway riding home, after 10:30pm.  It had been 11 hours of Pride for us.