Pride Week
VALERIE REISS
06/20/2001
A recent New Yorker cartoon pictures two men cozy on a sofa. The caption reads: “‘What are you doing for Pride week?’ ‘Nothing. We’re here, we’re queer, I’m used to it.'” For those who aren’t yet that sedentary, the week is full of activism and celebration.
Filled with so many events it’s hard to keep them, um, straight, the week kicks off with the Rally at Bryant Park. The following Sunday is the 32nd Annual Gay and Lesbian Pride March and Pride Fest. Pride Fest is a mixture of street fair, folk festival and community center that draws about 350,000 people. It includes: StageFest, a smorgasbord of performing arts; Kidspace, where parents and kids can rest and be entertained; CoffeeHouse, a booze-free chill-zone with coffee and an acoustic stage; and Artspace, where Lesbian and Gay artists share their painting, printmaking and photography.
And the week peaks with the DJ-ed Dance 2001 and a rollicking display of fireworks. All of this is heroically hosted by Heritage of Pride, a volunteer-managed, non-profit corporation.