Chris Heywood and marchers in last year’s parade | Photos: Courtesy of NYC & Co./Walter Wlodarcyzk
Pride Month is officially in full swing – and the grand, Kylie Minogue-infused climax of NYC Pride, one of America’s biggest and best, is just around the corner.
Not to mention WorldPride, which makes its American debut in June 2019… It’ll come around before you know it!
But first things first, this year’s Pride March takes place on Sunday 24 June. And as LGBTQ travelers from around the world descend on the city for the main event, we recently sat down with Chris Heywood, Senior Vice President of NYC & Company, for insider tips on how to have the perfect Pride…
What are you most looking forward to about Pride this year?
It’s going to be extraordinarily exciting, because of the momentum that’ll be following it. It’ll be the one-year countdown to hosting WorldPride!
We’ll be looking at, understanding and appreciating the historical significance of why New York City as such an important LGBTQ destination.
We really want to use this as an opportunity to reenforce that, and make sure people around the world know that New York City is the preeminent LGBTQ destination. That we welcome the world and embrace LGBTQ culture, and the subcultures that come with it. So looking more at the transgender sector, and really embracing that. You’ll see that in some of the content we’re creating. We’re really excited to have this, and be the first US destination to host it.
In laymen’s terms, what are you guys doing to help with next year’s event?
We are partnering with the Heritage of Pride organization to help them really market this as one of those historical events, to really use it as a hook to really encourage people to make 2019 a year-long pilgrimage to come to New York City. But we’re providing a lot of support to Heritage of Pride in the way of marketing, utilizing our own marketing assets, and our industry prowess and understanding, and making sure that they are connected to the global travel industry through our global network.
A dragtastic float in last year’s parade | Photo: Walter Wlodarcyzk
We’re partners with them and we couldn’t be more excited. We stood by them at WorldPride in Madrid, and we’ve been actively communicating with them. I mean, they’re in charge of putting on the events, we’re a marketing organization – but we are partnering with them and using this historical anniversary as a way to lift both of us up.
What would you suggest to an NYC newbie for the perfect Pride weekend, outside of the official events?
New York City is one of those places where [LGBTQ] travelers are going to want to access anything and everything that people come and enjoy, whether that’s Broadway, arts and culture, the great hotels and attractions. But I think a couple insider tips I’d give: pay a visit to the Stonewall National Monument, in the West Village, and some of the original gay bars in the West Village.
I call the West Village home, I’m right in the heart – I live right off Christopher Street! I have an affection and affinity for it. It’s where a lot of the historic events have unfolded. Like, when gay marriage was passed in New York, everyone gathered near Stonewall. So I definitely think go to the Stonewall Inn for a drink, see the monument in Christopher Park, and see the gay bars along Christopher Street; the origins of LGBTQ history in New York.
Also I would say, go to Chelsea – Chelsea’s still really popular – and Hell’s Kitchen. Hell’s Kitchen is the center of gay culture in New York. All the great bars and a lot of the gay population is in Hell’s Kitchen, but they’re also all over the city. People will feel comfortable wherever they are.
Do you have a favorite bar yourself?
That’s a good question! I particularly like Industry, up in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s always very festive! I actually visited The Stonewall Inn recently for the very first time. I passed it many, many times, but went and had a drink there recently. It was a lot of fun. But I go to all these places in the West Village. Big Gay Ice Cream is right there, Via Carota is next door, an excellent restaurant. Marie’s Crisis is a great hangout and piano bar. It’s just so cozy, the West Village. It has so much charm – the tree-lined streets, the brownstones. Have the West Village as your epicenter of any visit!
For more information, visit Nycgo.com/lgbt.
For more information about NYC Pride, visit the official website.
