60 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
lgbt pride
Melinda Katz and ‘Free’ singer are among special
guests at 26th annual Queens Pride Parade
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
Celebrating life, love and freedom,
Queens residents will take to the streets
of Jackson Heights on June 3 for the 26th
annual Queens Pride parade and festival.
Melinda Katz, who has been an
LGBTQ+ supporter during her time as
borough president, will be one of the
grand marshals for this year’s parade and
festival. Joining her as grand marshal is
Elijah Betts, who has been involved with
Queens Pride for seven years.
Th ere will also be a special musical performance
by Ultra Naté, known for such
dance hits as “Free” and “If You Could
Read My Mind,” as part of the group
Stars On 54.
Th e parade is sponsored by the Queens
Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee, which
was formed in 1990 when three men murdered
Julio Rivera, a gay Latino man from
Jackson Heights.
Following his death, Maritza Martinez
and future Councilman Daniel Dromm
co-founded Queens Pride, along with the
parade and festival, as an act of protest.
Since then, the parade has evolved into a
yearly celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.
But the parade keeps true to its
roots, with marchers and attendees gathering
at Julio Rivera Corner at the start of
each year’s parade.
Rivera’s death inspired Dromm, then
a public school teacher at P.S. 199 in
Queens, to become a staunch advocate for
LGBTQ+ rights. In the 1990s, the Jackson
Heights resident pushed for the Children
of the Rainbow curriculum to be taught
in schools, which would teach children
to respect the races, ethnicities and sexual
orientation of their classmates.
According to Tina Arniotis, a current
co-chair of Queens Pride, other supporters
of the parade include Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer, Senator Michael
Gianaris, public advocate Letitia James
and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Arniotis, who co-chairs the organization
with Monique “Mo” George, joined
the organization in 2016. She and George
nominated themselves aft er the previous
co-chairs decided to end their terms
aft er six years of leading the organization.
Before then, she said that there had
not been any women chairs of the Queens
Pride in nearly two decades.
Th ough the parade usually follows a
specifi c theme like “Pride – Strength –
Unity” and “A World of Pride,” Arniotis
said that there would not be a specifi c
theme for this year’s festivities. Instead,
she said the organization would “just celebrate
pride as we always do.”
She added that in 2019, New York
would be celebrating “World Pride”
which marks the 50th anniversary of the
Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village.
Following this year’s parade, Arniotis
said that they would be putting all of
their energy into planning the parade for
World Pride, which she believes will have
a huge impact on tourism to New York.
All registered parade marchers will
be eligible for a Queenie award, which
Arniotis said recognizes the vast talent
throughout the community. Th is year,
marchers can win one of six awards,
including Th e Drag Race awarded to
best drag performance, Th e Rainbow
Award for the best use of color and Th e
Screaming Queens Award, given to the
group with the best sound, “be it chanting,
singing, a band, live or pre-recorded.”
Th e parade begins at noon on Sunday,
June 3, and runs from 37th Avenue from
89th Street to 75th Street. Following the
parade, the festival will take place on
75th Street and 37th Road from 1:30 to 6
p.m. For more information, visit queenspride.
org.
Photo courtesy of Queens Pride
The Queens Pride Parade and Festival is celebrating its 26th year on June 3.
/@jenna_bagcal
