{"id":266839,"date":"2026-06-14T23:16:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T23:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/266839\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T23:16:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T23:16:35","slug":"from-day-to-night-thousands-join-energetic-brooklyn-pride-festival-and-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/266839\/","title":{"rendered":"From day to night, thousands join energetic Brooklyn Pride festival and parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mikel Andrews could hardly believe his eyes when, on Saturday, June 13, he found himself surrounded by tens of thousands of people of all ages, dressed in a rainbow of colors and flooding the streets of Park Slope with joy at the 30th annual edition of Brooklyn Pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never felt pride in my own home country but here I literally feel it. I feel the word P-R-I-D-E,\u201d Andrews, a dancer who moved to New York from Guyana three months ago, told Gay City News, reveling in his first-ever pride festival in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something new for us,\u201d he said, repping his home country with a flag on his water bottle in one hand, while holding a rainbow fan in the other. He stood with his friends at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street just after 5 p.m., as Brooklyn Pride\u2019s festival<\/a> began to wind down, making way for the twilight parade, which kicked off two-and-a-half hours later.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FromFrom left, Mikel Andrews, Josh Mclean, and Bryce Goodloe.Dashiell Allen<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up as a queer child back in my country, we were never allowed to be who we are,\u201d said Josh Mclean, Andrews\u2019 friend, also from Guyana. \u201cTo actually be here, to have the community altogether, brothers and sisters, as one is something new for me, and I love it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in Guyana, organizations like SASOD<\/a>, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, do hold pride events, but they\u2019re not widely accepted, and often attract hecklers, Mclean explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Pride\u2019s multicultural festival and parade has taken place on the second weekend in June since 1997. As per tradition, it began with a street fair along Fifth Avenue, while the parade took place along the same route just as the sun began to set. Throughout the day, large crowds gathered at bars and restaurants, often spilling into the street. The line to enter the lesbian institution Ginger\u2019s curved around the block.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BrooklynCommunity members line the sidewalk for Brooklyn Pride.Donna Aceto<\/p>\n

While Mikel and Josh celebrated their first-ever pride, many other attendees had been marking the once-a-year tradition since long before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have the kids, you have the families, everybody finds home here, and that\u2019s what counts,\u201d described Tanisha Worrell, from Crown Heights, who has attended Brooklyn Pride for the past decade. Worrell has attended with her partner, Stacy Morris, from Coney Island, for the past six years.<\/p>\n

Together, they participated in the Brooklyn Pride 5K. \u201cIt was a slow finish, but we made it,\u201d Worrell said.\u00a0
\n\"TanishaTanisha Worrell and Stacy Morris.Dashiell Allen\n<\/p>\n

Brendan Olson, from Bushwick, has come to the festival since 2021, and enjoys connecting to \u201csomething bigger than yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s no love in the world like Brooklyn,\u201d said performer Venus Mystique<\/a>, who spent the afternoon dancing outside of the cocktail bar 390 Social, for the second year in a row.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"VenusVenus Mystique.Dashiell Allen<\/p>\n

As is always the case, a liminal transition period ensued between 5 and 7 p.m., as festival participants began to pack up their tents and the street cleared out in anticipation of the parade.<\/p>\n

\"AllAll together for Brooklyn Pride.Donna Aceto<\/p>\n

The parade itself is characterized by the presence of a large number of local public and private schools, and children\u2019s organizations in general, who kicked off the procession. Contingents from PS 133, PS 295, PS 20, Brooklyn Friends School, and more took the lead. A parent in their midst held up a sign reading \u201cmy love for my children has no conditions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the children was 10-year-old Ethan from Bed-Stuy, joined for the fourth year by his mother, Sara Hyjek, marching with the gender-inclusive Brooklyn Scouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to set a good example and show him that it\u2019s important to celebrate pride and it\u2019s normal,\u201d his mother said.\u00a0
\n\"EthanEthan and his mother, Sara Hyjek.Dashiell Allen\n<\/p>\n

The Sirens Women\u2019s-plus Motorcycle Club<\/a> revved up their engines just in front of the other marchers, as they have been doing at parades for over 40 years \u2014\u00a0including Queens Pride just last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s historically one of our favorites. It\u2019s one of the most community driven prides. Most like grassroots feeling,\u201d the club\u2019s president, Brooke Severance said. The group actually began their day 90 miles north at Poughkeepsie Pride.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BrookeBrooke Severance.Dashiell Allen<\/p>\n

Many state and local elected officials also lent their support, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, who committed herself to protecting the trans community. Out City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Tiffany Cab\u00e1n, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, among others, were also in attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"CouncilmemberCouncilmember Crystal Hudson, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning for New York City Leila Bozorg, and Councilmember Tiffany Cab\u00e1n.Donna Aceto<\/p>\n

Jamie Best and her fiance Elizabeth Ortiz sat on chairs along the sidewalk, decked out in shades of pink and purple, \u201cabout as sapphic and queer lesbian as you can get!\u201d, enjoying the freedom that pride brings them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very flamboyant people on any given day, so coming out and being with people who are in the same mindset about it [is exciting],\u201d Best said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SouthSouth Brooklyn Sapphic makes the case for queer nightlife deep in Brooklyn.Donna Aceto<\/p>\n

In the whimsical spirit of Brooklyn, Archie the \u201crainbow monster\u201d waved hello to the marchers. A giant puppet handmade from recycled materials visiting from New Orleans on behalf of the Louisiana and Brooklyn-based shop Leroy\u2019s Place<\/a>, he \u201cis supposed to represent joy and kindness,\u201d explained Serene Bacigalupi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ArchieArchie the Rainbow Monster with Serene Bacigalupi and Jaques.Dashiell Allen
\n\"TheThe NYC Anti-Violence Project.Donna Aceto<\/p>\n

As the parade kicked off, so did the fifth game of the NBA finals. The Big Apple Marching Band played to the tune of Bad Bunny\u2019s hit \u201cNUEVAYoL,\u201d as revelers began to feel pride \u2014 not just in the LGBTQ community, but in the city as a whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One marcher started a call-and-response chant: \u201cBrooklyn Pride! Knicks in Five!\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Just over four hours later, the Knicks would win the NBA championships, and the whole city would erupt in celebration.\u00a0
\n\"CheerCheer New York waves to the crowd.Donna Aceto
\n\"CongregationJewish LGBTQ Brooklynites bring the rainbows to Brooklyn Pride.Donna Aceto
\n\"BrooklynBrooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso delivers remarks near Comptroller Mark Levine and Attorney General Letitia James.Donna Aceto
\n\"BelaBela Auguand Jennifer Flynn Walker.Donna Aceto
\n\"AssemblymemberAssemblymember Jo Anne Simon and the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn.Donna Aceto
\n\"EnjoyingEnjoying a moment in the shade.Gabriele Holtermann
\n\"DogsDogs are an essential part of Brooklyn Pride.Gabriele Holtermann
\n\"CongressionalCongressional candidate and former NYC Comptroller Brad Lander.Donna Aceto
\n\"CrowdsCrowds spill out into the street for Brooklyn Pride.Donna Aceto
\n\"FogoFogo Azul drums along.Donna Aceto
\n\"TheThe NYC Dyke March team.Donna Aceto
\n\"TheThe Callen-Lorde team.Donna Aceto
\n\"CUNY'sCUNY\u2019s LGBTQIA+ Consortium.Donna Aceto\n<\/p>\n

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