Wish You Were Here: NYC Pride

June 29th 2018

We have bigger problems then boys kissing boys and girls kissing girls~

For those of you who don’t know, June is Pride Month! This is a month where we celebrate our differences as humans and support people loving who they love. This month is filled with great events both supporting an exploring the history of LGBTQ+ rights, but also celebrating the steps forward that have been made in not only acceptance but appreciation of other sexual identities and orientations.

This year was my first venture into NYC Pride and although I am heterosexual, I felt honored to be there supporting, loving, and celebrating people’s ability to love one another. Plus, I was so happy to attend and support 2 of my closest friends who are part of the LGBT community. I found the whole event to be beautiful and it was great to see so many stores and brands celebrating Pride.

NYC Pride was comprised of 2 more “major” events surrounded by smaller side events happening all day. The major events were the Pride Parade and the Pride Fest. The Pride Parade was a colorful celebration of people in the community as well as organizations that supported the LGBTQ community. Pride Fest was a street fair with multiple vendors and fun activities.

My friends and I took a cute Polaroid with at a Fujifilm and Instax booth! We also got cute stuffed dog toys and water bowls for our furry friends from Petsmart!

After exploring Pride Fest, my friends and I explored Union Square park and the area surrounding and saw some amazing street performances, people playing in fountains, and people sprawled across lawns relaxing among new and old friends!

After grabbing a bite to eat at Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar (10/10 recommend for great service, tasty food and chocolate treats, and super kind servers) we decided to make our way along the main parade root. That is where everything came alive. Lavish costumes and confident struts from people in the street who are truly proud to be who they are.

One of my personal favorite groups to see at the parade was an LGBTQ organization for the deaf. Everyone was so compassionate and supportive and were blowing kisses, doing the sign for applause, and raising hand hearts and the sign for “I Love You” high in the air. It was a beautiful display of human compassion.

Overall, whether you are a part of the community or advocate for the community. I recommend you attend pride. I have never seen so much love in one day and I am so happy to have had my chance to see it all unfold in person.