Houston Gay Pride Parade
The Houston Gay Pride Parade is the major feature of a gay pride festival held annually since 1979. 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.
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 Neartown area. 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.[1]
It is currently the most attended and largest gay pride event in the Southwest region of the United States. The 2015 Houston Pride Festival attracted 700,000 attendees, which set a new record.[2]
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 & 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 & Ruth Ravas | ||||
| 1981 | "We the People" | Ray Hill & Rita Wanstrom | ||||
| 1982 | "A Part Of, Not Apart From" | Marion Coleman & Andy Mills | ||||
| 1983 | "Unity through Diversity" | Marion Pantzer & Walter Strickler | ||||
| 1984 | "Unity and More in '84" | Pokey Anderson & Rick Grossman | ||||
| 1985 | "Alive with Pride" | Terry Clark & Freda Jerrell | ||||
| 1986 | "Liberty Is In Our Grasp" | Tony Bicocchi & Dee Lamb | ||||
| 1987 | "Come Out and Celebrate Pride" | Persons Living With AIDS | ||||
| 1988 | "Rightfully Proud" | Bruce Cook & Eleanor Munger | Sharon Kowalski & Harvey Milk | |||
| 1989 | "Stonewall 20" | Charles Armstrong & Bettie Naylor | ||||
| 1990 | "Look to the Future" | Walter Carter & Annise Parker | Debra Danburg & Craig Washington | |||
| 1991 | "Take Pride" | Gene Harrington, Jack Jackson & Linda Morales | Katy Caldwell & Marvin Davis | |||
| 1992 | "Pride = Power" | Sheri Cohen Darbonne & Brian Keever | Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston | |||
| 1993 | "Out & Proud" | Brian Bradley & Carolyn Mobley | Adan Rios | PFLAG Houston | ||
| 1994 | "HouStoneWall 25" | Jay Allen & Cicely Wynne | Claire Koepsel | Q-Patrol | ||
| 1995 | "Silence to Celebration" | Suzanne Anderson & Don Gill | Annella Harrison | H.A.T.C.H. | ||
| 1996 | "Pride Knows No Borders" | Bill Havard & Jeanette Vaughn | Jack Abercia | The Royal, Sovereign, and Imperial Court of the Single Star | ||
| 1997 | "Glowing with Pride" | Deborah Bell & Jimmy Carper | Krewe of Olympus | |||
| 1998 | "Unified, Diversified, Electrified" | Bob Bouton & Jackie Doval | Barbara Winston | Texas Gay Rodeo Association | ||
| 1999 | "Pride, Power & Pizzazz" | Sean Carter & Nancy Ford | Colt 45's | |||
| 2000 | "Take Pride, Take Joy, Take Action" | Richard Weiderholt & Tori Williams | Don Sinclair | People With AIDS Coalition Houston | ||
| 2001 | "Embrace Diversity" | Mitchell Katine & Dalia Stokes | Blake & Gordon Weisser | PFLAG Houston | ||
| 2002 | "Pride Worldwide" | Mela Contreras & Rusty Mueller | Jane & Irv Smith | Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston | ||
| 2003 | "Silver Celebration" | All former Grand Marshals honored | ||||
| 2004 | "Pride As Big As Texas" | Sonna Alton & Jerry Simoneaux | Sue & Jim Null | Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas | ||
| 2005 | "Equal Rights! No More! No Less! | Weldon Hickey & Deb Murphy | Dennis and Evelyn Schave | Bayou City Boys Club | ||
| 2006 | "Say It Out Loud!" | Phyllis Randolph Frye & Ray Ramirez | Rev. Marilyn Meeker-Williams | Bunnies on the Bayou | ||
| 2007 | "Lone Star Pride" | Jack Valinski & Maria Gonzalez | Garnet Coleman | The Imperial Court of Houston | ||
| 2008 | "We are Family" | Dalton DeHart & Kelly McCann | Julie Eberly | AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc. | ||
| 2009 | "Out 4 Justice" | James Knapp & Fiona Dawson | Mike & Linda Bratsen | Legacy Community Healthcare | ||
| 2010 | "Pride NOT Prejudice" | Gary Wood & Carol Wyatt | Ann Robison | Montrose Counseling Center | Mayor Annise Parker | Andy Cohen |
| 2011 | "Live. Love. Be." | Bryan Hlavinka & Tammi Wallace | Duane & 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 Hildebrand |