(Photo: Tina Arniotis)
Jan. 4, 2018, By Tara Law
The Jackson Heights non-profit that holds the Queens Pride parade each year will host its 25th annual Winter Pride gala on Jan. 20 to raise funds for its landmark event.
Queens Pride, a group that aims to advance LGBTQ issues, organizes the parade each June, drawing a crowd of 40,000 to 50,000 people to the Jackson Heights event.
The Queens Pride Winter gala aims to raise funds to help cover the cost of the parade. The funds will be used to pay for permits, insurance, ambulances and other parade necessities, said co-chair Tina Arniotis.
The gala typically raises between $10,000 and $15,000 each year.
The first Queens Pride parade took place in 1992 in response to the murder of 29-year-old Julio Rivera, who was killed in a Jackson Heights school yard for being gay in 1990. Queens Pride as an organization formed the winter after the first parade.
This year’s gala will honor individuals and groups that share Queens Pride’s commitment to diversity, Arniotis said.
The honorees will be Nick Gulotta, the Queens borough director for the Mayor’s Office; Sean Coleman, the executive director of Destination Tomorrow, an LGBTQ services organization based in the South Bronx; and the Queensboro Dance Festival, which provides a venue for dance companies to perform.
The gala will take place from 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. at Astoria World Manor, with tickets costing $125. The event will feature cocktails, dinner, live music, a raffle and dancing. This year, the celebration’s color theme will be silver and violet— silver for 25 years, and violet to symbolize gay pride.
Those interested in donating or participating can visit www.queenspride.org; use the Queens Pride mobile app (available for iPhone or Android) or call Tina Arniotis at (347) 869-2601.
Winder Gala (Photo: Tina Arniotis)
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9 Comments
My old neighborhood….what have they done to you! 🙁
That’s the very same thing my relatives said in the 70’s when the ethnic character of the neighborhood started changing.
There is a big difference between racial and ethnic bigotry AND disgust with the perversion of what was once a nice place to live.
Somebody should look into how this organization spends it’s money. I heard that this group receives over $50,000 in city money to put on this parade. This is a poor use of city money. This event should be self funded, as they are a non-profit.
This parade gets city funding and the other funds raised are misspent and this organization is mis managed. I would seriously asked how this money is spent and why plus city funding is really needed to put on a one day event. Danny Dromm uses this parade to get his political pals on stage and tell us all how great he is. Use your money for a better cause.
Ask Danny Dromm to cover this — this is his district –
They already get taxpayer funding for this. What a waste.
now that Danny Dromm’s term is up who is actually going to sponser this
Unfortunately Danny’s term is not up yet, it’s his last. Maybe he will get someone in the city council to fund this, but this group should self raise its own money to put this on. This is Danny’s little parade where he grandstands every year. We have enough parades here each year.