Boston is gearing up for the annual Pride Parade, which will commence in Copley Square at noon on Saturday, June 8. This year’s theme is “Looking Back, Loving Forward,” which recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and the parade will feature a record 431 registered marching groups, 54 floats, and between 40,000-50,000 marchers.
Boston Queens Performer Verna Turbulence dedicated a special performance to those that were lost in the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Blackstone Square on Tuesday, June 4, as part of the Boston Pride Week’s Pride Lights ceremony. Blackstone Square – a new venue for the event – was lit up in pink lights to remember those lost to the HIV epidemic and to celebrate the LGBTQ community.
“The new theme ‘Looking Back, Loving Forward’ acknowledges the people and Pride groups who have come before us who have helped us strengthen our community,” said Linda DeMarco, President of Boston Pride. “The fight for our rights must continue as well as fighting for our ability to love ourselves and each other freely without fear of hate or persecution.”
Special features of this year’s parade include a 900-foot-long rainbow flag called the “River of Pride” flag, as well as the Unity Flag. The River of Pride flag will travel to Boston from Portland, Maine, and will also be featured in World Pride in New York City at the end of the month.
This year’s parade marshals were chosen by the community, and include Grand Marshal Dale Mitchell, founder of the LGBT Aging Project, Marshal Ava Glasscott, trans model and former Miss Trans USA Pageant contestant, and Honorary Marshal Chris Harris, who passed away in January but was an entertainment impresario and longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community. Marsha P. Johnson will serve as Champion of Stonewall Honorary Marshal.
“Boston Pride’s 2019 Parade Marshals represent a diverse spectrum of the LGBTQ community who have all made significant contributions,” said DeMarco. “We look forward to having Dale and Ava as marshals in the 2019 parade while we also honor the legacy of Chris Harris and his tremendous impact not just on Pride but on the entire the community.”
The parade will begin at Copley Square, traveling up Clarendon Street, making a left on Tremont Street, then a left on Berkeley Street up to Boylston Street, a left on Charles Street, a right on Beacon Street, and finishing at Boston City Hall, where the Boston Pride Festival will be taking place.