My First time attending Pride NYC Weekend 2021
I attended my first Pride this year in New York City. I didn’t get the full experience being the official Pride march was a “virtual” event, however, i did get to cover several events over the weekend. Protests and gatherings in the city that collectively feel like they carried the spirit of what Pride weekend is meant to be.
Portrait of “Rollerena Fairy Godmother”
Rollerena Fairy Godmother came into being on the evening of Saturday, September 16, 1972 by a young man from Kentucky who put on a gown, a 1950s hat, and a straw basket and skated up and down Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. Over time, Rollerena added to her outfit: rhinestone glasses, costume jewelry, a small horn, and a magic wand to bless mortals became regular accessories to her character. She skated in gay neighborhoods, the Easter Parade, Gay Pride marches and in popular discos. The creator of Rollerena did not consider himself a drag queen; instead she became the character of a Fairy Godmother.
(Source: https://gaycenter.org/archive_item/rollerena-fairy-godmother-collection/ )
One of the first events I was able to capture was the end of the 29th annual Dyke March. The March I believe started at Times Square and made its way all the way down to Washington Square Park, which is where most of the cities recent demonstration often close out. It also a great location. Because of the WSP fountain which people tend to jump into to cool off so the Dyke March demonstrators where no different jumping in and finding refuge from the 90° heat we had during Pride Weekend.
After covering the Dyke March I wanted to make sure I was able to properly cover a Pride demonstration from the start so I had some contacts send me info on the Queer Liberation March. I was to follow the demo all the way to Stonewall another important landmark and very much part of the story of the communities fight for respect of their rights, just look up the stonewall riots to gain understanding on the important of Stonewall. When we arrived the Queer liberation demo was crossing paths with the Stonewall demonstration so I followed that demo on their March which brought me a few blocks From Astor place. After a quick rest I made my way back to WSP where most of the Pride goers had started to gather to continue the festivities and where I was able to capture the bulk of my fountain photographs the pictures explain it all. Lol
I will definitely be back next year to photograph the event. I likely add some video blogging to my coverage, as I make a transition to incorporating more high quality video into my workflow and coverage. I hope all enjoyed the weekend and would love to hear about some of the annual events I should hit to get a full Pride experience. Shoot me a tweet if you the plug.
I feel the struggle of the LGBTQIA+ community as they still fight for rights and respect throughout the world, keep fighting.