Houston Gay Pride Parade

The Houston Gay Pride Parade (or often called the Houston Pride Parade) is the major feature of a gay pride festival held annually since 1978. The festival takes place in June to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. This event commemorates the 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood, which is generally considered to be the beginning of the modern gay rights movement. Protests against police harassment in Houston also helped bring about the parade.

The festivities are held all day on the 4th Saturday of June. The highlight of the event is the parade, which has been held in the evening after sunset since 1997. The necessary revision in a Houston parade ordinance to allow a nighttime parade was facilitated by then-Houston City Council member Annise Parker. With the event after dark, the various units can be creatively illuminated.

Until 2015, it took place in Houston's most gay-friendly neighborhood, Montrose.Pat Bryan The route of the parade usually had been along Westheimer Road, from Dunlavy Street to Crocker Street. Owing partially to concerns over increasing congestion over the years in the nearby neighborhoods, and to accommodate a larger festival (held in the daytime before the parade itself), the 2015 parade was moved to downtown Houston.

It is currently the most attended and largest gay pride event in Texas, the Southwest region of the United States, and the second largest Houston-organized event in the city behind Houston Rodeo. The 2015 Houston Pride Festival attracted 700,000 attendees, which set a new record.

The Houston Pride parade was expected to take place in the fall for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, due to the increasing cases in Houston the 2020 Pride Parade was replaced with a virtual rally. It was the first and only time the parade was cancelled.

Awards Entries in the parade are eligible for awards in categories with cultural references significant to LGBT history as well as a judges pick and categories with more localized focus:

Judges' Choice Aria (best creative sound) Fabulous (best costumes) Rainbow (best lighting) Ruby Slipper (best walking) Judy Garland (best performance) Pink Diamond (best float by a for-profit company) Priscilla (best float by a non-profit group) Spirit of Montrose (best overall)

Houston Pride Themes and Parade Grand Marshals Year Theme Grand Marshal(s) Honorary Grand Marshal(s) Organizational Grand Marshal(s) Community Grand Marshal(s) Celebrity Grand Marshal(s) 1979 "United We Stand" Thelma Hansel 1980 "Proud to Be" Jim Farmer and Ruth Ravas 1981 "We the People" Ray Hill and Rita Wanstrom 1982 "A Part Of, Not Apart From" Marion Coleman and Andy Mills 1983 "Unity through Diversity" Marion Pantzer and Walter Strickler 1984 "Unity and More in '84" Pokey Anderson and Rick Grossman 1985 "Alive with Pride" Terry Clark and Freda Jerrell 1986 "Liberty Is In Our Grasp" Tony Bicocchi and Dee Lamb 1987 "Come Out and Celebrate Pride" Persons Living With AIDS 1988 "Rightfully Proud" Bruce Cook and Eleanor Munger Sharon Kowalski and Harvey Milk 1989 "Stonewall 20" Charles Armstrong and Bettie Naylor 1990 "Look to the Future" Walter Carter and Annise Parker Debra Danburg and Craig Washington 1991 "Take Pride" Gene Harrington, Jack Jackson and Linda Morales Katy Caldwell and Marvin Davis 1992 "Pride = Power" Sheri Cohen Darbonne and Brian Keever Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston 1993 "Out & Proud" Brian Bradley and Carolyn Mobley Adan Rios PFLAG Houston 1994 "HouStoneWall 25" Jay Allen and Cicely Wynne Claire Koepsel Q-Patrol 1995 "Silence to Celebration" Suzanne Anderson and Don Gill Annella Harrison H.A.T.C.H. 1996 "Pride Knows No Borders" Bill Havard and Jeanette Vaughn Jack Abercia The Royal, Sovereign, and Imperial Court of the Single Star 1997 "Glowing with Pride" Deborah Bell and Jimmy Carper Krewe of Olympus 1998 "Unified, Diversified, Electrified" Bob Bouton and Jackie Doval Barbara Winston Texas Gay Rodeo Association 1999 "Pride, Power & Pizzazz" Sean Carter and Nancy Ford Colt 45's 2000 "Take Pride, Take Joy, Take Action" Richard Weiderholt and Tori Williams Don Sinclair People With AIDS Coalition Houston 2001 "Embrace Diversity" Mitchell Katine and Dalia Stokes Blake and Gordon Weisser PFLAG Houston 2002 "Pride Worldwide" Mela Contreras and Rusty Mueller Jane and Irv Smith Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston 2003 "Silver Celebration" All former Grand Marshals honored 2004 "Pride As Big As Texas" Sonna Alton and Jerry Simoneaux Sue and Jim Null Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas 2005 "Equal Rights! No More! No Less! Weldon Hickey and Deb Murphy Dennis and Evelyn Schave Bayou City Boys Club 2006 "Say It Out Loud!" Phyllis Randolph Frye and Ray Ramirez Rev. Marilyn Meeker-Williams Bunnies on the Bayou 2007 "Lone Star Pride" Jack Valinski and Maria Gonzalez Garnet Coleman The Imperial Court of Houston 2008 "We are Family" Dalton DeHart and Kelly McCann Julie Eberly AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc. 2009 "Out 4 Justice" James Knapp and Fiona Dawson Mike and Linda Bratsen Legacy Community Healthcare 2010 "Pride NOT Prejudice" Gary Wood and Carol Wyatt Ann Robison Montrose Counseling Center Mayor Annise Parker Andy Cohen 2011 "Live. Love. Be." Bryan Hlavinka and Tammi Wallace Duane and Judy Roland The GLBT Community Center Jonathan D. Lovitz 2012 "Live Out Proud" Nicolas Brines, Jenifer Rene Pool and Council Member Ellen Cohen Toro, mascot of the Houston Texans Madison Hildebrand2013"Pride Unleashed"John Nechman and Robin BrownJanuari Leo2014"Carnivale"JD Doyle and Christina GorzynskiSarah and Fernando Aramburo2015"HEROES"Ryan Levy and Britt KornmannAnna Eastman2016"Houston Proud"Bradley Odom-Harris and Fran WatsonDena Gray Imran Yousef (Pulse Survivor)2017"Wonderland"Lou Weaver, Sallie Wyatt-Woodell, and Aimee BroadhurstTony Carroll, Marion Coleman, and Arden Eversmeyer2018"#Pride40"All former Grand MarshalsBob Briddick, Julie Mabry, and Josephine Tittsworth 2019"Summer of '69"Harrison Guy, Judge Shannon B. Baldwin, Mike Webb, and Constable Alan RosenAtlantis Narcisse, Dee Dee Watters, Ana Andrea Molina and Monica Roberts 2020 "Divercity" Cancelled caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Replaced with a virtual/online rally. 2021Cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic. Replaced with a mixture of virtual rallies and smaller in person gatherings across Houston.2022 "Houston:The Beat Goes On" 2023"All We Need Is Love"

Houston Gay Pride Parade

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