The
annual Buffalo and Western New York Pride Week, the cultural event of the
season, will begin late next month with
an expected attendance rate upwards of 30,000, 10 times the amount since the festival’s move to
Canalside in 2011.
Pride Week preparations are well underway with the flag
raising ceremony kicking off the festivities on May 29.
Other events include the Gay 5k on May 30, the Dyke March on
June 2, and concludes with the Pride Parade and Pride Festival on June 3. The Pride Parade has over 100 organizations
participating in support of their LGBTQ community. Starting at SUNY Buffalo State campus at
noon, the parade stretches over two miles down Elmwood Avenue and ends on Allen
Street.
With
such a large number of attendees, festival goers will have to pay a $10 fee to
enter the final event taking place at Canalside.
“When you're seeing all over the country people with bombs
and driving into crowds, it makes security more expensive because we have to
protect the participants.,” Mordecai said.
Mordecai also warns, bags will not be permitted into the
venue for security reasons.
Dating back to the early 1970s, Pride Week has been a beacon
of acceptance. Damian Mordecai, executive director of the Pride Center of
Western New York, attributes the growth in popularity of the week to this
region.
“Stuff
that happens here doesn't happen in other cities, it really does say a lot
about this area,” Mordecai said. By Tara
Hark and Max Wagner
