The 5 Best Cities To Celebrate Pride
Pride celebrations around the world mark the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights, blending vibrant parades with poignant reminders of past struggles.
unbranded – Lifestyle
The 2024 Rochester Pride Parade and Festivalone of the most joyous parties of the year, is set for 11 am today.
The annual celebration of LGBTQ pride in the Flower City, which drew record numbers in 2023, will feature a march down a new route before concluding at the festival grounds in Highland Park.
While last year’s gathering took place in hot and humid conditions, it’s all blue skies this year, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 83 degrees and a light breeze.
Here’s everything you need to know about Pride 2024:
Crowds are set up along South Avenue in anticipation of the 2024 Rochester Pride Parade, many seeking out covered shady spots on this warm Saturday morning. Paradegoers of all generations have come out to witness Rochester Pride Month’s crowning event sporting all kinds of pride gear, from flags and umbrellas to tassel skirts and bucket hats.
As lively music booms down South Avenue, a line of drag performers and other paraders in themed costumes are turning down Science Parkway now for the parade’s 11 a.m. start.
One attendee, Malachi Wonderland, sat on a sunny block of sidewalk, which he decorated with a chalk inscription reading, “You are loved.” This year marks Wonderland’s first Pride of him as an out trans man, and he’s here to “give more than [he] takes.”
“I waited 37 years to become the man I’m meant to be, and I’ve had to shove down every inch of myself,” Wonderland said. “I don’t think any kid should ever have to swallow that.”
The festivals start at 11 am at Highland Park (same time as the parade), where there will be games, vendors, food trucks and live music until 6 pm
Tickets are required to get into the festival and cost $5 for general admission and $50 for VIPs (bar, lounge and private restroom trailer included). Kids under 12 are free. No dogs or backpacks are allowed.
The event’s musical headliner is Nina Sky, a twin-sister duo that fuses R&B, dancehall, reggaeton, hip-hop and pop influences. The duo hit it big in 2004 when “Move Ya Body” became a Billboard Hot 100 hit. Audiences will also hear music from DJ Citizen Jane, Ethan Soza, Kaylin Cervini, Adrienne Mack-Davis and Stunt Double. Several drag performances will dazzle the festival stage, including some from RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni and Miss and Mr. Gay Pride Rochester.
The Meatball Truck Co., Neno’s Gourmet and Wraps on Wheels are just some of the Food trucks at the festival.
Drivers should avoid parking on neighborhood streets around the parade route and organizers recommend ride-sharing.
Paid parking will be available at two locations:
- To Sigl Center (1000 Elmwood Avenue) — $5
- Grass lot between the Al Sigl Center and Meadowbrook Road — $5
Free parking for people with disabilities will be available at the Lilac Adventure Zone (249 Highland Ave.).
A shuttle will run nonstop between Highland Avenue and Science Parkway from 12:45 to 7 pm
Pride’s beginnings in Rochester can be traced back to May of 1971 when about 300 protesters attended a sit-in — what they called a “gay-in” — at Genesee Valley Park.
The city began hosting the Pride Picnic in July 1972. The picnic, held July 13 this year, now marks the kick-off of Pride Week in Rochester.
The first Pride Parade in Rochester took place along East Main Street on June 28, 1989 — the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in New York City. Organizers moved the parade to Park Avenue in 1991, where it was held annually until this year.
An adjoining Pride Festival was added to celebrations in 1996 and has been held at various spots around Rochester
The 2024 Pride Parade has been relocated from its longtime spot on Park Avenue to South Avenue this year.
Organizers say that’s partly due to the success of last year, with over 15,000 attendees and more than 200 marching groups, and partly due to resurfacing work along Park Avenue.
The parade begins at Science Parkway and heads north on South Avenue until it reaches Beikirch Park (1440 South Ave.) in Highland Park.
