# How many different LGBT pride parades/festivals have you been to? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271 "2019-06-29T19:35:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/1 "2019-06-29T19:35:09Z")
I was just realizing that I’ve been going to LGBT Pride parades and festivals since the early 1990s and hit quite a variety. Chicago Phoenix Dallas Columbus, OH Ft Lauderdale San Francisco Los Angeles Long Beach San Diego Tallahassee I’m not sure I should count Tallahassee since it was a Pride event held by the FSU LGBT student group during spring since most students would be gone in the traditional late June Pride season. Not even sure if there was a Tallahassee Pride in the early 1990s. So, how about you? Some of these I specifically traveled for Pride such as San Francisco and some are Prides in cities I’ve lived in such as Chicago ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/2 "2019-06-29T21:24:25Z")
I have been to none. But the local AIDS project has an annual gala that I have been to three times. It is more of a civic event, but a fun party. It would be intriguing to attend a Pride parade here in Topeka, since this the city that is home to the rock the Westboro Baptist Church is located under. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/3 "2019-06-30T00:15:45Z")
I’ve only been to the local one in Durham (which is in September due to the weather here), but it looks like a lot of the local ABC stations will be broadcasting the parades in their cities tomorrow, so it might be possible to drop in online to see how others do theirs. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/4 "2019-06-30T00:42:11Z")
Only one because they always fall on very hot days 🙂 I’ve been to Cleveland in the past and hope to go to Akron this year because one of my LGBT friends is leaving town sometime after the party. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/5 "2019-06-30T01:09:16Z")
Pride events here in town but not the parade. Been to the parade in West Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/6 "2019-06-30T02:19:53Z")
I’ve been in every one in New York City from 1970 to 1995. I’ve been in every one in Cleveland from 1996 to 2019. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/7 "2019-06-30T02:27:50Z")
None, being a heterosexual male. But I certainly support the cause. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/8 "2019-06-30T02:53:37Z")
I miss the early ones, back in the 70s, which were actual marches, never parades. They weren’t sanctioned by the police, streets weren’t blocked, and we had to deal with traffic, pedestrians and protesters, as well as the cops. Nothing like floats and music. Many got tear-gassed or arrested. I was in similar marches when ACT-UP started in the 80s. > [@Leaffan](#): > > None, being a heterosexual male. What make you think you’d be the only straight guy there? You absolutely wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/9 "2019-06-30T04:06:58Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > …What make you think you’d be the only straight guy there? You absolutely wouldn’t. Oh I know that, and having a transgender child I have no issue showing my support; I just haven’t…yet. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/10 "2019-06-30T15:06:05Z")
One here in downtown DC with friends about 15 years ago, and one in San Francisco in the early '90s when I was there for an ALA conference. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/11 "2019-07-01T00:49:08Z")
Two – Pittsburgh and Scranton. I would like to hit one in a more college town (Bloomsburg or State College for example) but the timing has never worked out. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/12 "2019-07-01T12:46:43Z")
Four I think… London Brighton Bristol Birmingham. The best is always Brighton, which as a city is basically the UK equivalent of Provincetown, only bigger. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/13 "2019-07-01T12:51:50Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > What make you think you’d be the only straight guy there? You absolutely wouldn’t. What do their motivation(s) tend to be? I’m not saying there aren’t but asking someone who would have a better idea than I would. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/14 "2019-07-01T13:03:02Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > What do their motivation(s) tend to be? I’m not saying there aren’t but asking someone who would have a better idea than I would. IME they have LGBTQ friends or family they go with, they want to show their kids a lovely, happy tolerant festival, or they just want a fun day out. My local pride (Bristol) feels at times just as straight as it is gay - it seems like many people there see it as a great day out, regardless of their sexuality. Half the people I work with go - and they ain’t LGBTQ. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/15 "2019-07-01T13:04:07Z")
None: I did, however, go to an anti-amendment 2 (SSM illegalization) rally in Orlando 5-10 years ago. It’s the only event of that nature I’ve been a participant in for any cause. (I did see anti-war rallies in the early 2000s but that was more to view their exercise of free speech than because I was supporting (or against) them. I wanted to go to the several-months-old anti-detention camp rallies but I couldn’t find parking.) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/16 "2019-07-01T13:16:21Z")
None, but then again I generally never go to parades/rallies of any kind. Some time in around 1986 or 1987 when I was in HS, I was part of some kind of a march across midtown Manhattan to the UN to protest something or other, I think something about Apartheid in South Africa. Which I was definitely against in principle, for sure, but the only reason I did the march was (a) the weather was nice and (b) it was in the company of a girl I was hoping to get closer to, which I did not. Ever since then I’ve been bitter and cynical about the ability of parades, marches, and other shows of large, peaceful group gathering solidarity having any tangible outcome resulting directly from it. (A mass riot, yeah, I could see that having tangible direct outcome, but probably a bad one.) Personal anecdote aside, The “Gay Pride _March_” in its origin was meant for gay people to openly, proudly, and defiantly declare their orientation instead of lurking in the shadows of society, with their hetero friends/family possibly walking with them to show support, but it was expected to be predominantly gay. It’s become a “Gay Acceptance/Integration Celebration Parade” thing now, with an increasing percentage of hetero people participating and especially large corporate sponsors signing up to show solidarity as a gesture of inclusivity… And there are people quite unhappy about that. [LGBTQ Group Plans Alternative ‘Queer Liberation March’ on Pride Day](https://gothamist.com/2019/05/15/lgbtq_queer_liberation_march.php) > [@](#): > > … > The Reclaim Pride Coalition, which has been endorsed by over 100 organizations, says people are welcome to attend both, but their protest will be focused on political and social issues facing the LGBTQ community. Organizers say the aim is to honor the spirit of Stonewall on the 50th anniversary of the historic riots at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, a pivotal moment in the gay rights movement. > > “It was a rebellion, an uprising,” said Colin Ashley, one of the members. “[We are] offended by the over-policing of the annual pride parade that excludes many of the most marginalized in our communities. We are offended by the selling off of the pride parade […] especially on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion.” > > … > > Other people who plan to participate in the Queer Liberation March said they have long wanted an alternative to the traditional parade. > > “I was stuck in a throng of people who have scoffed at my pronouns, honestly,” said Turner Law, who identifies as gender non-binary, about the 2017 parade. “There was a moment when I realized that this party was not representative of my community of people.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/17 "2019-07-01T13:48:32Z")
Zero. But I don’t go to anyone else’s festivals either. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/18 "2019-07-01T14:10:32Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > What do their motivation(s) tend to be? I’m not saying there aren’t but asking someone who would have a better idea than I would. To show support for the community would be the obvious one. Myself,I’ve only been to one parade, the Rose Bowl parade, and I was working it. I am not a parade person. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/19 "2019-07-01T20:18:58Z")
Since 1990 (the summer I was 18), I’ve been to both Capital Pride and Baltimore Pride several times. Sometimes I’ll go to both in the same month, since they tend to be a weekend or two apart. I’m an ally. Whenever I’ve gone to Pride, it’s been with one or more LGBTQ friends; I’ve never gone with just other straight people. I think I would, though. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271/20 "2019-07-02T01:11:30Z")
It would seem weird to me to go out to a parade in another city where I don’t actually know anyone. My understanding is that you go to them to show support, not to just watch and be entertained, so going there as “tourists” seems weird. If it were a local one or I were invited by people I know, that would be a different story. Then I’d be supporting my friends or the community. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-lgbt-pride-parades-festivals-have-you-been-to/836271.md?page=2)