Harlem Gay Pride Festivities for 2010

Next month, Harlem will host to its first ever Gay Pride Celebration. Harlem Pride will be sponsoring several events that will celebrate the pride and diversity of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and Same Gender Loving (SGL) neighbors and organizations in Harlem.

The scope and vision of the inaugural Harlem Pride event by its founding board members is that it will be an annual festival event held in the “Harlem Gayborhood”. The festival will include the quintessential block party along with several other events.  They hope to expand each year to become the essential vehicle for Harlem residents to celebrate their LGBT & SGL communities and pride.

The purpose of Harlem Pride is to promote LGBT and SGL Pride in Harlem by providing opportunities for networking and communication among organizations and community members. To do that, Harlem Pride will become a community partner in support of existing programs and they will also produce their own events that will celebrate LGBT & SGL pride. Lawrence Rodriguez and Carmen Neely, two Harlem LGBT activists/residents saw an opportunity to celebrate the LGBT & SGL community and its role and contributions to Harlem’s rich history. They envisioned an annual celebration of gay liberation in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park Historic District because the area has become a thriving “gayborhood,” and would be an excellent symbol of uptown gay pride.

There are several Harlem Pride events occurring. Below are just a few. Stay tuned for more.

• “Coming Out” Art Show: A Historical Retrospective of New York’s Trailblazing LGBT Institutions — Honored organizations include Black AIDS Institute, The Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, Fierce, Folsom East Street Fair New York, Harlem United Community AIDS Center, The Hetrick-Martin Institute, Human Rights Campaign, Imperial Court of New York , Leslie & Lohman Gay Art Foundation, LGBT Center in NYC, LIVE OUT LOUD, PFLAG, SAGE and SALGA.
  Date/Time: June 12, 2010, 2-10pm
  Location: Casa Frela Gallery, 47 W. 119th Street (btwn Lenox & 5th Avenues)

• Harlem Pride Official VIP Launch Party
  Date/Time: June 25, 2010, 7pm – 4am
  Location: Billie’s Black Bar/Restaurant/Lounge, 271 W. 119th Street (btwn St. Nicholas Ave & Frederick Douglass Blvd)

• Harlem Pride Day Celebration — Live entertainment and vendors. There will be something for everyone from music and dancing to health and wellness information.
  Date/Time: June 26, 2010, 12-6pm
  Location: 119th Street Between Lenox & 5th Avenues

• Bowl with Pride
  Date/Time: June 27, 2010, 6-10pm
  Location: Harlem Lanes, 2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. (btwn W 125th and W 126th Street)

For more info, visit HarlemPride.org

Tags: Bisexual, Black AIDS Institute, Black Gay Pride, Carmen Neely, Fierce, Folsom East Street Fair New York, gay, Gay Pride, gayborhood, Harlem, Harlem Pride, Harlem United Community AIDS Center, Human Rights Campaign, Imperial Court of New York, Latino Pride, Lawrence Rodriguez, lesbian, Leslie & Lohman Gay Art Foundation, lgbt, LGBT Center in NYC, LIVE OUT LOUD, Mount Morris Park Historic District, PFLAG, SAGE, SALGA, Same Gender Loving, SGL, The Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, The Hetrick-Martin Institute, transgender

Category: * ALL EVENTS *, Harlem News, HEALTH / WELLNESS, LGBT