5 Virtual Parades to Celebrate Pride Month At Home

Pride Month has been a long-standing tradition ever since the first gay pride march was held in New York City in June 1969. The annual celebration is synonymous with parades, festivals and revelry, all held to help raise awareness about gay rights. However, this year’s COVID-19 crisis has prompted many organizers to move their festivities online in an attempt to practice social distancing  recommendations help flatten the pandemic curve.

So mark your calendars, power up your Wi-Fi connection and get ready to celebrate Pride Month from the comfort of your very own living room! Here, we round up 5 virtual parades, all of which are scheduled to take place – pandemic or no pandemic – while you’re sheltering-in-place at home.

 

NYC Pride

This world-famous event, which drew over 5 million people proudly marching through the streets of New York City last year, was just cancelled for the first time in half a century. The full virtual schedule has yet to be announced but the iconic parade will still take place via a 50^th anniversary TV special with pre-recorded appearances from stars like Wilson Cruz, Margaret Cho and more on ABC. Check nycpride.org for more details.

 

San Francisco Pride

San Francisco’s live parade may be cancelled in light of COVID-19, but revelers can still rally behind the cause on June 27 and 28 by purchasing an all-access pass, remote access pass or rainbow flag pass. The virtual event will take place on June 28 from 2 to 7 PM PST, featuring live and pre-recorded performances, greetings from LGBTQ community members, elected officials and a celebrity line-up. For more information, check out sfpride.org.

 

Boston Pride

Dancing in the streets may be out of the question, but Boston is still celebrating 50 years of pride with an impressive line-up throughout the month of June. Members of the LGBTQ community can still attend a virtual concert, a festival, flag raising ceremony, illumination event and much more. Head to bostonpride.org for the complete schedule.

 

LA Pride

The LA Pride parade is a timeless tradition in Los Angeles. Although the annual march through West Hollywood has been postponed, organizers promise there will still be plenty of surprises in store for attendees at the city’s first-ever virtual event. Visit lapride.org to stay up-to-date on the latest news and announcements.

 

Global Pride

In response to hundreds of cancelled Pride parades, event organizers from around the world will come together on June 27 to launch Global Pride, a live-streamed virtual event which will feature musical performances, speeches and messages from human rights activists. The even is being organized by the world’s largest Pride networks: InterPride, which has over 500 members from 86 different countries and the European Pride Organizers Association, which has over 90 members in over 30 countries. Go to globalpride2020.org for more details.