Your Guide To Pride 2009 – Editor’s Pics

The best in art & entertainment, nightlife and other events for summer 2009!

Some of the Best Annual Events Of Pride:

This is it ladies! The official Heritage of Pride Dance on the Pier – Rapture On The River. DJ Susan Levine spins all night long. The $45 advance VIP tickets get you access to the VIP area, 1 drink ticket and access to the official after party – Pier Pressure. Show your pride and dance the night away on the pier! Visit NYCPride.org for tickets and info.

Before Pride week officially begins celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Gay Rights movement at the Stonewall Inn on June 15th from 7pm-10pm. This event will benefit the Hetrick Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School and will feature very special appearances and performances from Alan Cumming, Julie Gold and more! Visit hmi.org for tickets!

On June 22 join NY’s LGBT Center at Pier 54 at Hudson River Park for the 26th Annual Garden Party. Every year The Center kicks-off Pride week with this fabulous benefit event featuring restaurant sampling, open bar and raffles. Eat your pride out! Visit gaycenter.org for more info and tickets!

On June 20, at 2pm, the official LGBT Pride Rally will kick off this year’s Pride Week Events, with well-known performers and motivating speakers from the LGBT community. On June 28 visit PrideFest, the annual LGBT street fair which brings local residents and families, community leaders, and area business owners together to celebrate their pride in the streets of their city. At noon, join the Pride March with Cleve Jones, Anne Kronenberg and Dustin Lance Black.

National Pride Festivals

  • Boston Pride – June 5-14. www.bostonpride.org
  • Chicago Pride – June 26-28. www.chicagopride.com
  • Fort Lauderdale Pride – June 20. www.stonewallstreetfestival.com
  • LA Pride – weekend of June 12. www.lapride.org
  • San Diego Pride – weekend of July 18. www.sandiegopride.org
  • San Francisco Pride – weekend of June 27. www.sfpride.org
  • Seattle Pride  – Events all month long. Parade June 28. www.seattlepride.org
  • Tucson Pride Week – June 19-28. www.tusconpride.org
  • Washington, DC Capital Pride – June 14. www.capitalpride.org
  • Portland Pride – weekend of June 13. www.pridenw.org
  • Philadelphia Pride – June 14. www.phillypride.org
  • Atlanta Pride – Pride is in October but the Pride Committee has organized events June 14-29. www.atlantapride.org

Upcoming Events: Nightlife Editor’s Pics For Pride and Beyond

Waterfront MEGAPARTIES

Dance the night away with thousands—yes, thousands—of women at one of these renowned mega-parties. As major Pride events, they draw serious crowds of New York’s finest, and all are located on the twinkling Hudson River. It wouldn’t be Pride if you didn’t hit up at least one of these annual she-bangs!

Friday, June 26

PRIDE KICKOFF 2009 @ CHELSEA BREWING CO
Start your Pride weekend off right with LoverGirlNYC, Exclusive Ent. and over 1,500 women at this upscale extravaganza. DJs Mary Mac, Missy B and China keep the pier thumping till the sun comes up at the 12,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor (smoker-friendly) venue. VIP entry gets you one-on-one time with celeb host Free, which already has 106th & Park fans scrambling for tickets.

Saturday, June 27

HERITAGE OF PRIDE PRESENTS RAPTURE @ PIER 54
Revel post-Dyke March at this early evening event. All of Rapture ‘09 proceeds benefit New York City’s LGBT Pride Week events and community organizations. The official women’s dance on the pier features DJ Susan Levine on the decks to keep all the gorgeous ladies gyrating into the night.

PIER PRESSURE @ CHELSEA BREWING CO
Henrietta Hudson and LoverGirlNYC host the 10th Annual Pier Pressure dance party, the official after-party for the HOP’s Women’s Pier Dance, Rapture. DJs Stacy, Kim Dazy and Sandman will be rockin’ the beats at this beautiful waterfront event, along with thousands of women and a plethora of rotating go-go dancers.

CROWDPLEASERS
These soirees are traditionally huge draws. You’ll be practically swimming in a sea of women, which, on these hot days of summer, sounds just fine and dandy.

Saturday, June 27

ALL WHITE AFFAIR @ LE POISSON ROUGE
Don your best whites for this swank event at the hippest new lounge in New York City. LoverGirlNYC and Exclusive Ent. host more than 1,200 women from around the country, as well as TV star Prancer from Flavor of Love and I Love Money.

GIRLNATION @ NATION
This long-running Saturday night girl-bash always excites, with whipped cream-armed shot girls roaming the electric dance floor, amped up by none other than DJ Stacy. Tonight, doors open an hour earlier (9pm), because we just can’t wait for Pride to start.

SHESCAPE’S PRIDE WEEKEND EXPLOSION @ APPLE

The lovely ladies of Shescape close out their party season with a serious bang at hot Village spot Apple. The upscale, gorgeous set always make appearances at this fabulous party.

SOFT N WET @ SAPPHIRE
LezPlay is back in town for its second annual dance marathon. Hundreds of women from all over the country spend a hot afternoon writhing to the tunes of DJs Mary Mac, Missy B and Maya.

Sunday, June 28

CUBBYHOLE
After flag wavin’, whoopin’ and hollerin’ at the parade, soothe your throat with a cocktail at Cubbyhole, the West Village’s local queer bar. It’s the perfect location to mix and mingle with your fellow parade-goers—all hundred-zillion of them!

GRAND FINALE @ SHADOW

Arrive early for LoverGirlNYC and Exclusive Ent.’s famed finale party. You’ll be saying goodbye to a wonderful Pride weekend, but you’ll be saying hello to lots of lovelies while gettin’ down to R&B and reggae on Mary Mac’s dancefloor.

HENRIETTA HUDSON
Join this jam-packed club full of hotties for a spectacular sidewalk gathering after the parade. Prolong the celebrations with Pride-themed contests all day and night. (Best Rainbow Wear will be the toughest category, we’re sure!) Of course, stop by all summer long for crazy good times—Hen’s is open seven nights a week!

MIXX PRIDE AFTER-PARTY @ HONEY
Lori and Marcela of LaReiNas Mixx move slightly uptown from their usual West Village Mixx to sweet spot Honey for this one-night-only blowout.

SNAPSHOT @ THE DELANCEY

Join the “most eclectic” ladies from the Snapshot float at the ultra-cool Delancey after the parade for their fifth-annual Roof Deck Party. With three floors and rotating DJs, you won’t be able to stop movin’ and groovin’ till the sun comes up over the LES.

PRE-Pride Partying
Why wait for the last weekend in June to show your rainbow love? Go crazy all month long at these advanced chances to mingle.

A GIRLS’ NIGHT IN @ XA
Get pampered before Pride at this weekly primp-fest. Every Thursday, the gay-owned Chelsea salon invites New York’s lesbians to a fabulous night of girly fun, including a blowout, skin consultation and, of course, booze.

CIRQUE D’EROTIQUE @ HAPPY ENDING
Burlesque rules on Monday, June 15, at this alluring soiree located at a former massage parlor. A face and body painter will be in attendance to make your skin sparkle with sensuality.

EDEN @ UNION SQUARE LOUNGE
Every Wednesday, Eden welcomes some of the city’s most beautiful women. Resident DJ shErOck* plays music to get you dancing and shimmying under the romantic lighting of this laid-back lair.

GOLDSTAR @ FAT BABY
The hot and hip ladies who bring you Proposition every other Friday at Kion Lounge are branching out. Beginning Thursday, June 25, DJ Frances of Nina Sky and MTV2 VJ Jasmine Solano join Radio Rose at this event for “gold star” women-lovin’ women.

HISTORY IS HOT
Celebrate Pride where it all began, at the legendary landmark and super-chill two-floor watering hole, the Stonewall Inn. Write your own history this Gay Pride month.

Thursday, June 25

ANYTHING GOES
Danielle and her Thursday night crew do Pride Bollywood style! Dancers amaze, and vodka specials help it all go down easy. DJ Stacy provides the night’s international soundtrack.

Friday, June 26

GIRLNATION DOWNTOWN
GirlNation Downtown celebrates Pride with DJ Stacy hitting the beats that make you sweat and shake up this historic downtown spot.

LESBO-A-GO-GO
This Friday and every Friday DJ Stacy spins and Sir Sabrina takes chargebehind the bar. The music is always good, the drinks are always strong and the queers are always there.

OUT IN THE BOROUGHS
Who says Manhattan has all the fun?

249 BAR LOUNGE

This two-floor Park Slope hangout is happening every weekend, but is especially hot on Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13, when it celebrates Brooklyn Pride.

BUM BUM BAR
This hot Latin club celebrates Pride ‘09 with a series of fun events that will make the trip out to Woodside feel like a cool summer breeze.

CHOICE CU*TS @ KALLI LOUNGE
After the Dyke March on Saturday, June 27, haul your whistles, banners and signs over to Brooklyn and party to the sounds of DJs Lesbian Van Halen, Jane Bang, Huckwild and SoHo.

GIRLCODE @ SAPONY NIGHT CLUB

Hit up Astoria with DJs Mike Da Wizard and JENRG every Friday, and of course on the Friday of Pride weekend, June 26, for drink specials, hot go-gos and over 200 girls from Queens and beyond.

RIDE THE RAINBOW @ CABANA
Ok, it’s actually a docked boat on the Manhattan-side of the East River, but the view of Brooklyn is spectacular, so this Friday, June 26 event deserves special borough props. LaReiNas Ent’s two-level party boat boasts music by DJ Mike Da Wizard.

Upcoming Summer Events!

The weekend of July 24, get in on the Diva Dodgeball action of just pull up a chair and watch your favorite players in a serious game of dodgeball on the beach. When the tournament is over, hit one of the after parties!  Check out   divaontheshore.com for more info!

Atlanta Pride weekend is heating up thanks to Traxx. This September 3-8 Atlanta will host over 25 high quality events for women. It’s sure to be “Pure Heat.”

Start your gay pride off right and party for a good cause on June 24 at Anti-Violence Project’s Fusion benefit party at the Stonewall Inn.

Babeland Celebrates Brooklyn Pride! On June 13, Babeland celebrates pride with free swag and lots of discounts at the Prospect Park Pride Festival! After the June 28 Pride parade, join Babeland and their sexiest customers for a night of color-coded fun and flirting. You know the rules-and if you’ve forgotten, you can check the website for details!

On Monday, June 15 from 9pm-4am come to Happy Ending Lounge for Cirque d’Erotique. Ladies are free at this “delightfully wicked” party for gays, straights, lesbians & bisexuals with burlesquerotica dancers, drag queens, sexy gift bags, DJs and more!

Join one of North America’s most gay-friendly urban spaces as it celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the LGBT community at Divercite in Montreal, the last week in July into the early days of August!

Musician Terese Genecco has relocated to New York City where she appears the Last Tuesday of every month at the world-famous Iridium Jazz Club with her swingin’ 7-piece “little big band” and an array of hot, gay and lesbian guest stars.

From July 1 to August 1 Dixon Place Presents the 18th Annual NYC Hot Festival of Queer Performance and Culture. More than 50 shows and over 80 artists come together for the oldest, continual festival of queer performance and culture in the world!

Be in Provincetown the week of July 22-26 for GirlSplash to enjoy fun in the sun and the hot all-women dance parties and events! Just like Dinah Shore, but at the beach!

The weekend of July 17, visit the gay-friendly seaside town of Asbury Park for Roadtrip 8, a fabulous LGBT party extravaganza!

On June 20, grab your friends and head out to Crush in Asbury Park, where you will meet, mingle, and party with ladies from all over the tri state area to the sound of ocean waves crashing only feet away!

On July 16, legendary performer Suzanne Westenhoefer brings her unique and unabashed comedy to the iconic venue The Stone Pony in Asbury Park for a one-time event for which the Pony will be gay for a day. Presented by Aww Mama Productions.

After the craziness of Pride comes to a close get together with Women’s Network of Out Professionals for the Lynx Rooftop Summer Mixer. Come celebrate at network and their 3rd annual summer party. Visit outprofessionals.org for advance tickets and info on other great upcoming events.

Tickets are on sale now for Teatro State Fest with 19 events featuring 23 theater, dance, music, and comedy performances, family programming, workshops, artist panels, youth awards, and an all-day conference. This year hilarious out-comedianne Marga Gomez is performing her show “Long Island Iced Latina.”

Please join Katherine Linton and Stacy Lentz at Stonewall Bar on Tuesday June 9th from 6pm-9pm to help raise funds for Sylvia’s Place. Sylvia’s Place provides homeless youtrh versions for LGBT kids. Hope to see you at Stonewall on Tuesday night – or if you can’t make  it, you can make a donation online athomelessyouthservices.org/donate.html

NYC’s newest weekly girl party XA and the City is the number one spot to pre-game for your weekend. With Cosmos, Blowouts and Martinis at A Girl’s Night in at ZAC Anthony Salon and Spa. From 6pm to 9pm weekly. Visit xacanthony.com for more info. Reservations required!

Summer Offers From GO!

Not from NYC but want to be here for Pride? Looking for an exciting way to spice up your Pride weekend? Get a Room! Book a room at Milford Plaza now for Pride or any other time for fun in the heart of NYC. Visit milfordplaza.com for reservations and enter the access code GORATE for reduced rates exclusively for GO readers!

Get the summer’s hottest ticket! Whether you want to grab a season ticket or go see a game or two get your tickets for the 2009 NY Liberty basketball season. Visit nyliberty.com for schedules and details and use code: twoplys for big savings!

Other Local NY Pride Events!

New York City Dyke March – It’s time to hit the streets! Make some noise. Be visible. Be heard. Demonstrate, agitate, liberate! Bring signs, banners, drums, giant puppets, flags, hula hoops, or just be there, on June 27 at noon!

Brooklyn Pride Festival and Parade – On June 13, Brooklyn Pride organizes the 2009 installment of their annual celebration, a smaller but just as colorful version of its sister event from across the East River!


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