Scenes from Fifth Avenue's Brooklyn Pride Festival
[Free Letter] Plus, locals answer the question: What does Pride mean to you?
Thanks so much for reading Park Slope Times! I’m Kelley MacDonald, and I interview neighbors about their lives and favorite things to see, eat, and do in and around Park Slope. If you'd like to read these interviews, please upgrade to paid. If you stick with a free subscription, you’ll get occasional free emails, like this one. Thank you so much for being here!
Hi! How’s your week going? We tried to stay cool by going to our local playground sprinklers approximately one hundred times this week. It’s been so hot!
A couple weekends ago — when the weather was *chef’s kiss*, we went to the 28th Annual Brooklyn Pride Multicultural Festival on Fifth Avenue. The theme this year was “Pride: All Day, Every Day,” and an estimated 30,000 people attended the event, which included the street fair and the Pride Twilight Parade. It was such a fun day!
Below are some photos I took during the festival; I had a blast photographing folks! Since the event, I’ve reached out to a handful of locals and asked them the question: What does Pride mean to you? Their moving answers are below, and I’d love to hear what Pride means to you in the comments, if you feel like sharing.
[Ed. Note: Unless noted, quotes do not correlate with the people in the photos.]
“Pride means authenticity: carrying myself however I want regardless of the audience, celebrating others doing likewise, loving whomever I want however we want, and coaching others to find love.” — Noah
“In 1972, my father and I were in Central Park, and we came across a group of people that seemed so different. I asked my father, “What is this?” He said they are gay and celebrating their pride. I said, “How cool.” From that year on, as I grew up, I had a connection to what made me different. For years I wondered, Am I gay? In 1981, I told my parents I was gay. My mother wasn't pleased, but my father always knew. I was just getting out of high school and hit the streets of Manhattan to show my support for the gay movement. We protested for equal rights and gay rights. We had bottles thrown at us, but we kept fighting. I am now 60 years old and married to my wonderful wife!!!! Pride means freedom to be me and not to hide who I am. My whole life I've been out and proud to be gay. I’m a good human being who understands that we are all different, and we all should be accepted.
Thankfully I worked for Marriott, a company that accepted each and every one of us. For over 30 years, I was proud to go to work, because my company stood behind us when the world still hadn’t caught on. Now, young children around the country can hold their heads high because of people like me who paved the way. Pride is in my heart and soul — I am a gay woman!!! I never missed a Pride march; the last Sunday in June was a holiday to me — for the ones before me, for me, for the next generation. My wife and I live in the Slope and are proud of our community.” — Jeanne
“Pride is about expansiveness of expression and freedom. When we choose to live authentically, we begin to know the power of personal freedom and hopefully encourage a sense of that for others.” — Gigi
“It is great that we have awesome celebrations throughout LGBTQIA+ Heritage Month, but Pride is always a protest to me. It was started by Trans people of color and it seems like the world has forgotten about that because Black and Brown Trans people are being murdered across the US and there are laws being passed everyday, trying to erase the Trans community.” — Jackie, pictured above left
"I was living a lie that I hadn't even realized before coming out. The biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders when I started to live as my authentic self. Pride is acknowledging that I chose myself then, and I choose myself now. My hope is that Pride events and celebrations each year help others do the same." — Casey
“It is a gift to express yourself — to exist — however you choose to in this world without fear of repercussion. Pride is a celebration of that gift, and an effort to continue fighting for those who do not yet have that gift.” — AK
Thank you so much for sharing what Pride means to you!
(Second and eleventh photos by Liz Groeschen. All other photos by Kelley MacDonald.)
Good Night Out is back! This Wednesday, June 26th, grab your friends and family and go out to eat to support CHiPS, our local soup kitchen and food pantry. CHiPS will receive 15% of the day’s profits from participating restaurants, including Park Slope Ale House, Runner & Stone, Medusa the Greek, Wild East Brewing Co., Baba's Pierogies, and others.
06/21, 06/22, 06/23, 06/25, 06/26 European Cup Viewing, 3PM-5PM 📍Winemak'Her Bar
06/21 & 06/22 Angel’s Share: Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132, 6PM-8:30PM & 7:30PM-10PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/21 Dancing Queen Dreamland Roller Disco, 7PM 📍LeFrak Center
06/21 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Ana Tijoux & Ambar Lucid, 8PM 📍Bandshell
06/21 Bad Judys w/Blue & Rayne, 10PM 📍Good Judy
06/21 NYCT Presents: Anant Pradhan & Larry McDonald, 10PM 📍Barbès
06/22 & 06/23 Nature Exploration: Pollinator Month, 10AM-1PM 📍Audubon Center
06/22 Yoga on the Stoop, 10AM 📍Brooklyn Museum
06/22 Pollinator Discovery Morning, 10:30AM-12:30PM 📍Discovery Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/22 Prospect Park Tours w/Turnstile Tours, 10:30AM-12:30PM 📍Prospect Park
06/22 Exit Strategy, 11AM-4PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/22 Natural Perfume Blending, 11AM-2PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/22 Saturday Storytime w/Fasika Adefris & Sara Holly Ackerman, 11AM 📍Central Library
06/22 Prospect Paint in the Park Party, 12PM 📍Prospect Park
06/22 Pollinator Coloring w/Chalk Art NYC, 12PM-3PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/22 From Lens to Layout: Creating Your First Photo Zine, 2:30PM 📍Central Library
06/22 Las Muñecas Finna Putear: A Drag & Comedy Show Extravaganza, 3PM 📍The Bell House
06/22 Mizik Ayiti on the Plaza, 3PM-5PM 📍Central Library
06/22 Teen Girls Coding, 3:30PM 📍Central Library
06/22 Meat Cats Comedy Presents: Saturday Sauce, 5PM 📍Union Hall
06/22 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! meets NPR Tiny Desk Contest On The Road – Thee Sacred Souls & Adi Oasis, 7PM 📍Bandshell
06/22 No Filter, 10PM 📍The Bell House
06/23 Block Printing on Tote Bags w/Private Picassos, 10AM 📍Grounded Cafe
06/23 Lakeside Community Skate, 10AM-11:30AM 📍LeFrak Center
06/23 Brooklyn Pop-Up Market, 10:30AM-5:30PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
06/23 One Love Little Caribbean Day, 11AM-7PM 📍Boathouse & Audubon Center
06/23 Smorgasburg, 11AM 📍Prospect Park Breeze Hill
06/23 Adama Delphine Fawundu: Ancestral Whispers, 12PM-5PM 📍Lefferts Historic House
06/23 Pride at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music w/Pretty, Witty & Gay Cabaret, 12PM 📍BKCM Garden
06/23 Weekend Art: Summer Print Jam, 1PM-4PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
06/23 The Legacy of the Chicaba a.k.a. Moko Jumbie!, 2PM-5PM 📍Lefferts Historic House
06/23 Alec Flynn, 5PM 📍Union Hall
06/23 Lakeside Queer Skate Roller Dance Night Hosted w/QueerFlatbush, 6:30PM 📍LeFrak Center
06/23 Tambor y Caña - Afro-Venezuelan Percussion, 10PM 📍Barbès
06/24 Energy Healing & Meditation Workshop, 8:30AM-9AM 📍Prospect Park Picnic Area at 10th Avenue Lawn
06/24 Gathering Wool: Knit & Crochet, 11AM 📍Park Slope Library
06/24 Michael Henry & Tim Murray Comedy Extravaganza, 7:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/24 Pretty Major Hosted by Jay Jurden & Zach Zimmerman, 7:30PM 📍The Bell House
06/25 Free Fitness Walks in Prospect Park for Adults Ages 60+, 10AM-11AM 📍Prospect Park
06/25 Jack & Friends Summer Concert Series: Moozika! 4PM 📍Park Slope Library Garden
06/25 Our Garden Club, 4:30PM 📍Central Library
06/25 AMP’d Interval Training w/Chelsea Piers Fitness, 6PM📍Long Meadow
06/25 & 06/27 Astrology Readings, 6PM-10PM 📍Winemak'Her Bar
06/25 Julia Shiplett: Ambiguous, 7:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/26 Wednesday Greenmarket, 8AM-2PM 📍Bartel-Pritchard Square
06/26 Food as Medicine: Nutrition Seminar & Resource Fair, 10AM-2PM 📍Central Library
06/26 Teen Time: Gardening, 4PM 📍Park Slope Library Garden
06/26 Members’ Pride Night, 6PM-8:30PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/26 & 06/27 The Common Cooking Class, California Food & Wine, 6PM-9PM 📍The Common Park Slope
06/26 Craft-a-Long, 6:30PM 📍Old Stone House
06/26 Movie Night: Indiana Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark, 6:30PM 📍Long Meadow North
06/26 The Moth StorySLAM, 8PM 📍The Bell House
06/26 & 06/27 Stone I, 8:30PM-9:30PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/27 Lalo-palooza, 10AM 📍JJ Byrne Playground
06/27 Total Body Fitness, 10:30AM 📍Park Slope Library
06/27 Family Gardening Hours, 10:30AM-12PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/27 Nature Exploration: Pollinator Month, 12PM-4PM 📍Audubon Center
06/27 Little Shop, Big City: Artmaking Workshop, 3:30PM 📍Central Library
06/27 Zumba, 5:30PM 📍Park Slope Library
06/27 Curator-Led Member Tour: Paul McCartney, 6PM-7:30PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
06/27 The Rhythm of the Hips: A Belly Dance Workshop, 6PM 📍Barbès
06/27 Flower Arranging Workshop, 6:30PM 📍ZuZu's Petals Brooklyn
06/27 The Public Theater: The Comedy of Errors, 6:30PM 📍Prospect Park Peninsula
06/27 Prospect Park Yoga w/Brooklyn Flow, 7PM 📍North Long Meadow
06/27 Joe Castle Baker: Something to Think About, 7:30PM 📍Union Hall
Thanks so much for being here and reading this little newsletter! If you’d like to, please share what Pride means to you. I’d love to hear from you.
Kelley xo