Sunday was the annual Gay Pride march in Manhattan. Milton and I attended with cameras in tow. It was an exuberant celebration on the heels of the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning the Domestic Marriage Act as well as clearing the way for same sex couples to resume having the right to wed in California. The victorious DOMA plaintiff, 84-year-old Edie Windsor, was one of the parade’s three grand marshals. Seeing her was quite a high.
This is also a mayoral election year in New York City. Christine Quinn, the openly lesbian Speaker of the New York City Council, is a mayoral candidate who has recently received Edie’s endorsement. Quinn is leading in the polls today, but former Congressman Anthony Weiner is gaining on her and possibly Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has an outside chance, too. It’s a long way between June and November.
Aside from politicians avidly courting the LGBT voter, the parade was also heavy with product placement in hot pursuit of the LGBT dollar. Big corporations that participated include Delta Airlines, AT&T, Citibank and Coca Cola. Macy’s, Whole Foods and Kiehls had a strong presence, too. Vitamin Water had some poor schmuck or schmuck-ette dressed like a bottle of water march in the steam heat. Overall, the parade was primarily about LGBT people compelled to cheer their recent victories, strut their stuff and feel good about whom they are.
On a personal note, I am very pleased to announce that I experienced my own triumph this year. I did not suffer any further hearing loss, step in any fetid puddles or deep fry any body part, all mishaps I have suffered in past years while covering this annual event with Milton for Lame Adventures. Naturally, I half-expected to find myself swallowed by the sidewalk, but that didn’t happen, either. Therefore, I’ll let the pictures we shot tell the rest of the story.
Pride and victory are in the air.
Then, there is this woman who let it all hang out for the duration.
Feeling pumped waiting for the march to start.
Dykes on bikes kick it off!
The good hair day twins.
The annual showing of balloons.
Milton thought this chap’s leotard was Dorothy Hamil-inspired. His flower made me crave sunflower seeds.
The Lame Adventures award for Best Sign.
Grand Marshall Harry Belafonte!
Grand Marshall Edie Windsor in hat with red band.
A literally bird-brained bloke we’ve seen every year at Pride.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer.
Rainbow Brite.
Edie Windsor fans literally and figuratively.
Product placement.
LGBT center float.
Mr. Short Shorts front and center.
Family guys i.e., Mr. Long Shorts.
Big cheers for Governor Cuomo!
Rainbow dress.
Lesbian moms.
Blonde ambition.
Kiehls float.
Kiddie pride.
Together at last: scooter and bare bazoom pride.
Paddles and pads shriek, “NFL!”
Girl pride.
Butch dyke pride.
Brokeback Mountain …The Neo-realist version.
Shouting pride.
Why walk when you can ride the recline-o-cycle.
Clapping wilted sombrero pride.
Milton calls this “What the fuck…?”
New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly.
Gay cop color guard.
Gay firefighters and EMT’s.
Cop ordering phone booth perching pals to dismount.
Yes and yes.
Attitude.
Of course, Scout Troop 69!
Prancing with friend.
The Flaggots are back!
Bi Request — offering something for just about everyone.
Milton: “Not everyone should copy Tarzan.”
Back to regularly scheduled programming: pretty boys.
Russians are coming.
Latino pride.
Eye-catching.
Feathered friends.
Exuberance!
Just the place to find Harem Boy and Mad Hatter.
“Let’s put on a show!”
This magic moment.
Boy marching with Rainbow Girl.
Go Magazine: stick around — meow!
The Big Gay Apple is here!
Lady bugs!
Contrast in styles.
In lieu of feathers, rainbow tube balloons.
Marching with what else? A live snake.
Equality marchers.
Nice hat.
Nice shoes.
Strike a pose.
Shake that thing!
Well accessorized.
Perfect day to wear a bikini and feathers.
The Golden Girls have arrived!
Happy in tape and feathers.
Tribute to grandma.
Weiner!
Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner.
Drummer girl.
Indonesian pride.
Happy together.
Rainbow flag ears? This guy’s get-up irritated Milton.
Not housework attire: feathered mask and rainbow cape.
Bustier.
Hold that pose.
Feathers.
Having it and flaunting it.
Moving on from marriage to fracking?
Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio.
Thanks for sharing.
Madonna, watch out! Bearadonna’s here!
The Log Cabin Republicans are here — all three of them.
Hula hoop lady.
Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn in orange slacks with her spouse Kim Catullo.
Massive showing of Quinn supporters or as Milton said, “It’s like she’s Madonna.”
Gotcha shot of Milton and me.
Lame Adventures 
Seeing Edie Windsor would have given me chills. And made me weep. I am so happy for her! For our country, really. Another step in the right direction.
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Edie is a hero Heather. She fought for her rights, which thanks to this Supreme Court victory is now every LGBT person’s right. Her place in history is solid. As is Thea’s. The fact that Thea had to check out for progress to be made makes this victory so bittersweet.
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Milton would seem to be the perfect commentator for a televised broadcast of the event!
Given the recent high court ruling, a grand celebration!
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There was a lot of electricity in the air, Frank — and plenty of glitter. Milton has to be relaxed to fire off his quips. Sitting inside a broadcast booth might activate his inner mute button,but I’m sure he’d love it if it were air conditioned.
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LOL …. You can tell him that he has a fan in Cincinnati.
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Milton’s fan base is getting global Frank.
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Does he realize his growing popularity?
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He will should anyone stop him in the street and ask for an autograph. That day is nearing.
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BTW, because I know you like musicals, Act 4 of Time: The Musical is in progress.
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I know. I’m way behind in my blog reading. I can’t really do that here on my lunch break, but I’ll come around later.
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NP … it was just a reminder because I know you enjoy the musical! …. and I saw your participation.
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Thanks for the coverage…
Love, love… the “Gotcha shot”!!!
R.
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We were to anticipating to be photographed, but a friend saw us, zoomed in and clicked the shutter.
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I’m glad there was so much to celebrate this year! It really bugs me when the politicians fall all over themselves to attend events to show that they “get it.” And why aren’t they wearing costumes??
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What a brilliant idea, Jean! You’re right, to score the LGBT vote they should ignore convention and do something fabulous with spandex, glitter and feathers!
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It had to have been amazing to see Edie ! Wish we could have been there. So, so glad you met with no side-walk swallowing mishap. And, goodness, that woman with the big boobs! Don’t even know where to go with that! What an amazing week it’s been, right! Sara and I can believe we are now legally married in the eyes of the federal government! Miss you!
:Hugs,
Kathy
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It was indeed a thrill to see Edie, who looked like she was basking in the well-earned glory of her recent victory, Kathy. I wish I was able to get a better image, but it never fails, but she had a significant entourage and I only had a split second to snap a picture. That was such a challenge since my camera’s shutter speed is slightly slower than that of snail.
It is very cool to know that now your marriage is valid in the eyes of federal law.
Miss you, too, buddy!
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Great pics! I am going to have a hard time getting those boobs out of my head now however, thank you.
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Well, try standing across from them for the better part of four hours and you’ll discover that even though your a size 34A, you’re now suffering a serious contact back ache.
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Coming to you from a villa in Dubrovnik, best photo was last one.
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Dubrovnik? Are you attending Pride in a place with a name perfectly suited for a Marx Brothers movie.
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A Day at The Races or Duck Soup? Paradise by any other name.
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Thanks for this amazing photolog! What a day! It’s like I was there with your splendid commentary on each photo. Hard to pick a favorite.
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Glad you enjoyed the post Tania! Milton and I put a lot of effort in the images, but we were not as shutter bug crazy as were last year when we shot more then 2,000 pictures combined. We thought our heads would explode looking through all those shots. I truly anticipated coughing and out might pop a feather. This year, we cut it back to about 900 combined. That’s restraint Lame Adventures-style.
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Quite so! I’m sure you could have easily taken another 2,000 photos. So much material – I’d struggle to know when to stop.
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This year, Milton stopped when his camera’s battery died. I was carrying a back-up battery for my camera. I’m crazy that way, Tania.
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A true Girl Scout!
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On a sugar high from eating too many Thin Mint cookies!
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looking at the lovely lady with her chichis hanging out is making my back hurt! Great piece!
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I’m with you there, Jules! Glad you liked the post.
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Wow. Love the colors and the expressiveness. I feel as if I was there, enjoying the show in air conditioning, thankfully. Yes, Milton would make the perfect TV parade commentator. Kudos to Edie Windsor, never giving up.
My vote, too, for best photo — the gotcha shot.
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I suspect that the gotcha shot is Milton’s most loathed image of all. In it, I’m grimacing because I very likely missed a great shot either a fraction of a second too soon or too late. He’s looking pensive as he prepares to fire off another quip. My vote for commentator would go to Harvey Fierstein or Paul Rudnick. I’d love to watch it from home with those guys giving play by play.
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Yay!! I remember the 2011 parade – that was a few weeks after the marriage equality act in NY (as I’m sure you know) – and a few guys in wedding dresses on a float got me a little teary – I expect this parade was even more emotionally intense. I’m glad you enjoyed it (safely!), and thanks for the pictures!
As a side note, your birdbrain guy is a Coney Island staple – I didn’t know he was a pride parade regular too!
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Wow, thanks for the factoid about the birdbrain guy. If Milton and I ever head over to Coney Island and see him, we’ll feel like Pride was stalking us. We’ve covered the parade every year that I’ve been writing Lame Adventures. This is year four if anyone is wondering how long my blog has been around. If you’re curious, here’s 2011’s Pride post: http://wp.me/pMku1-Vy. That was a jubilant year as well.
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Thanks for sharing V. Would love to see that parade in person. xo
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Maybe one year you’ll be in New York, Wendy, on the day of the march. Until then, enjoy it virtually through Lame Adventures!
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I think Logo TV should broadcast it live next year and hire you and Milton to do the commentary. I’d love to hear what the “boob lady” has to say. 🙂
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She’d probably announce that she has big boob pride.
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Amazing on so many levels!
For the ultimate lame adventure you and Milton should be *in* the parade. Next year. 🙂
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Only if we’re the grand marshals and we allowed to ride inside an air conditioned car with blacked out windows Jackie.
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Tarzan needs to go back to the jungle. Please NYC can do better than Mr. Wiener? Glad to see the GOP showed up?!
Colorful afternoon. Gotcha shot was good. I liked mr shorty shorts.
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Every now and then you do need to see a severely out of shape Tarzan, Audra, to offset all the guys in drag that look a thousand times better than Jane.
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Fabulous celebration, Lame, it looks as though it was great fun. Glad the pavement did not eat you. Those shoes; I want those shoes.
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That guy was one well put together queen, Kate. I don’t think that I’ve ever looked so good myself. Dressing up is not my thing. Big shock eh?
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Great pictures! I’m always so impressed with the people who do the parade in really high heels. This is a feat of athleticism no less than anything you’d see on the Wide World of Sports.
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Ha! Good observation. Some years they’ve had stilt walkers, but we didn’t see any this year. Even more impressive than those that can walk in high heels without looking like they’re about to topple, is the pole dancer that can balance upside down on a pole as her partner bike rides them through the parade.
They seemed to be M.I.A. yesterday. What an absence!
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I work right down the street from the capital building in Austin, so the tension has been fairly palpable here, what with Wendy Davis’ filibuster followed closely by the SCOTUS decision. Your pix of the parade reminded me of the many of the things I miss about NYC (though not living there!). I have a feeling that local politicians would never march in the local pride parade, although, if courting a vote, I wouldn’t put it past them to swallow what passes for pride among them. Thanks, lame, for the memories!
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As you know Jeremy, Pride in NYC is HUGE since the Stonewall riots happened here. It sounds like there are plenty of politicians in Texas that would love to turn back the hands of time. But I do think that eventually progress will even catch up with them, whether they like it or not. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
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I’m exhausted! Thanks for taking us to the parade with you and Milton. The very best part was Edie! What a lady.
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Edie was definitely the high-light in the festivities, Patricia. We so regret not getting a better shot of her!
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Great photo essay, V! Looks like it was a wonderful and festive day on so many levels. And great to see a photo of you and Milton! Glad you had a good time!
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Thanks Cathy. That gotcha shot is further proof that Milton and I were there amongst the multitude viewing from the sidelines. It was estimated that attendance was somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000.
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Sounds wrong, but it’s right. The only difference I could see between your parade and the Salt Lake City one was no Harry Belafonte. It’s a world-wide event now!
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In much of the western world, pride marches are spreading, but I think it will be quite a while before there is such an event in the middle east, China, most of Africa, etc. But yeah, progress is spreading and that’s a great thing.
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Harry Belafonte! That’s awesome.
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Day-O’s been playing on a loop on the juke box in my head ever since …
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Now it’s in mine!
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Great photo tour from our mild-manner journalist. I’m disappointed that you didn’t make like Clark Kent and burst out of a phone booth (or porta-potty) wearing a mask and rainbow cape. The world needs more lesbian super heroes and fewer Anthony Weiners.
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You flatter me Russell, but I think I fit more in the antihero(ine) mode lacking courage and being light on guts — thanks to my numerous dietary issues, of course.
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Excellent coverage! I don’t believe I could pick a fave, they are all so good.
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Gee thanks! Milton was hoping that there might be a queen dressed as Paula Deen. I guess we’ll have to wait for gay Christmas (more commonly referred to as Halloween) to see that sight.
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Can I say, well just ICK
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We’re on the same page with you about her.
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If there ever is a remake of the movie Animal House, it should include scenes from this parade.
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This is the go-to parade for birds of a feather.
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I’ve been to the Manchester and London Pride marches, LA… so I’ll now pretend that I’ve been to New York as well! Good photos and commentary, by the way.
Also, good to hear of your mini triumphs so far… long may they continue!
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I bet those Pride marches across the pond are extremely colorful, too, Tom. Glad you enjoyed the post. I am a bit amazed that I did not encounter any personal foible this time, but maybe I got that over earlier in the week when I brutally bruised a pinky toe miss-stepping into my bathtub.
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Thanks for posting all these great pics! I’d love to catch that parade some time, but for now this will satisfy my need to see. Glad you didn’t suffer any injuries for the sake of jounalism. I’ve read that it’s not necessarily healthy to wear a bra all the time, and perhaps the woman in your photos read the same thing and interpreted differently!
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I’m glad this post provided you with a glimpse of what gay pride was like in New York this year, Terri. Milton arrived before me so he saw The Braless One first. I was a tad concerned that if she turned quickly left or right someone near her might get toppled. Of course, Milton and I were always at the ready to shout, “Duck!”
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I didn’t want to reply because there were exactly 69 comments and that seemed so perfect, but here goes #70 – good stuff!! Loved it!
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Fish!!! Wow, so good to hear from you! How are you, old friend? I hope well. Glad you loved the parade. Milton and I go for our annual fix of feathers.
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It looks like seriously good times. I’m doing pretty well. It’s been a long week and it’s only Tuesday, but overall life is good. How are you doing? I hope you’re as happy as this post made me, which is very.
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Glad to hear that you’re doing pretty well. Awwwwww, that’s great that this post made you happy! On the happy-o-meter over here, it’s been a pretty steady 8 – 8.5, but when I get too hot, it does dip to about a 2. I hate the heat when it gets too hot.
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All of this made me smile. I’m too lazy to go through all the comments and figure out if anyone knows why the woman needed her boobs out? And Big Gay Apple is my fave!!!
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Considering how many professional photographers covering the march stopped and photographed her Maggie, I think attention had a lot to do with letting it all hang out. We were rather amused by the apple lady-guy.
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Just wanted to pop in to let you know I left a *five star* review of your book on Amazon. Thoroughly enjoyed it. You rock, girl!
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Awwwwwwwwwww, buddy, that was so sweet! I love your review. Thanks! I completely forgot I made that comment about a menstruating Barbie! I didn’t know that was how we “met”!
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