31, the Art House Theater will present performances by Tony Award winners and Broadway notables, including Kristin Chenoweth, Cheyenne Jackson, Alice Ripley, Megan Hilty, Andrea Martin and Adam Pascal. This year’s Provincetown Film Festival (June 18 to 22) will feature awards for the actresses Patricia Clarkson and Debra Winger as well as a special drive-in screening of a newly restored copy of the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night.” From June 28 to Aug. Sure, tea dances and gay beaches are a draw, but culture is what actually attracts many vacationers to Provincetown, Mass., on the tip of Cape Cod. 22 to 27), one of the country’s largest gay sporting events.
GAY PRIDE ORLANDO 2014 SERIES
Politics may not be part of the organizers’ agenda, but with some 9,000 participants and 20,000 spectators expected to attend, there’s going to be a political edge to having the games in Ohio, where same-sex marriage is prohibited and sexual orientation is not included in statewide anti-discrimination laws.Īthletes from 44 North American leagues meet in Dallas for the Gay Softball World Series (Sept. 9 to 16), which brings together thousands of athletes - gay and straight - from around the world for popular sports like swimming and track and field, as well as bowling and darts. This year the Ohio cities of Cleveland and Akron will host this quadrennial competition (Aug. Out athletes, though, are nothing new, as evinced by the Gay Games, inaugurated 32 years ago in San Francisco. Thanks to Michael Sam, Jason Collins and Brittney Griner coming out of the closet, it has been a taboo-breaking year for gay athletes. Trust me.) It’s refreshingly retrograde.īelow is a look at annual gatherings, special events and under-the-radar happenings this summer that showcase how gay people will celebrate Pride across the country. We take weekend road trips to gay-friendly towns with gay restaurants that serve gay food. We geek out at gay film and theater festivals. We celebrate our shared interests as gay people by being with other gay people, as did our pre-Grindr forbears, by traveling to gay meccas (Philadelphia) and gay bars in surprising places (Triangles, on Route 7 in Danbury, Conn.). We’ve found that spirit of authenticity in places beyond Christopher Street. It leaves you hankering for yellow cake and a cream filling made from scratch. It’s just that the huge crowds, child-friendly floats and corporate sponsors make celebrating gay life seem as authentic as a Twinkie. It’s not that we don’t love the pageantry of the parades or admire (what’s left of) their activist drive.
It was near the entrance of a building near Fifth Avenue and 10th Street, with an awning to keep out the sun and a doorman who laughed along with our catcalls to bouncy go-go boys.īut a decade of rapid developments have pushed what was once a courageous celebration of gay rights solidly into the mainstream, so now our favorite way to express pride isn’t with Pride. Ten years ago, my gay friends and I found the perfect spot for watching New York’s gay pride parade.