The W Hotels lounge in Times Square was decked out in pride decorations as part of the Marriott brand campaign they’ve run for a few years called #LoveTravels. Hosted by one of today’s darling gay journalists, Philip Picardi pfpicardi), the event was a panel discussion on the meaning of pride with some truly interesting panelists: Wade Davis (the NFL’s first LGBT inclusion consultant), Tyler Ford (an agender advocate and writer at them), Jim Halloran (from GLAAD), and Geena Rocero (a trans rights advocate and Marriott’s #LoveTravels ambassador). I stumbled on this public event via the whotels Twitter account. (in order from when my pride week started to when it ended…) #QueerMeOut W Hotels Event Maybe not the political demonstrations you might expect, but remember: it’s also important to celebrate. My pride weekend in NYC was party-after-party. There are a variety of events in the few days leading up to the official pride parade on the Sunday, including the annual Dyke March (a non-commercial, unofficially organized march).
NYC Pride sees something close to two million participants and visitors. But during pride weekend, to see the Inn and the millions of people on the streets was really pretty special. I’ve been to the Stonewall Inn now a couple of times, never more than for a few drinks-and not for their legendary weekend parties. And the NY Pride parade has marched right past every June since 1969. Still in operation today, the Inn and the small plaza in front are national monuments. There’s no denying the importance of the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in the West Village. The Stonewall riots in 1969 are generally regarded as the launching point for the modern gay rights movement. It’s one of the world’s most important pride festivals because this is where it all began. I’ve been to a lot of gay and LGBTQ pride festivals around the world, but this year was my first time at the New York City Pride.