Queens Pride 2009

Dear Jack,

Today was Queens Pride 2009. It was the 17th pride in Queens. I marched with Western Queens for Marriage Equality and OUT Astoria. Our groups were combined with a faction called "Bridesmaids for Marriage Equality" as well as Lavish Lounge and several politicians from western Queens. Altogether we had about 40-50 people in our joint contingency.

We were led by a friend on bagpipes Paul R. Afterward I helped out at the hospitality tent. It was a long day, and it ended with a group of us meeting at Lavish for the Latin night/Pride event.

It was a good day for Marriage Equality, as Parade Founder, District Leader and Councilmember Candidate Danny Dromm was interviewed by NY1 stating that this parade and other parades like it can drastically influence the opinion of citizens to call their senators and vote for Marriage Equality.

Lavish

Dear Jack,

Last night OUT Astoria had a mixer at the new gay bar in Astoria called Lavish. There was a great turn out. The place opened for the first time last night. It is more trendy than Albatross, and had a more Latino feel to it, which is indicative of the changing community I guess. There were dancers, which is the first time I've heard of them in Albatross. It was almost like being in the city, only it's a couple blocks from home. Paul, Daniel, and Dirk were there. I had fun hanging out with various people. A group of us went to dinner around 10:30 to Cup Diner, and then I went home and Mikey went back for a final drink with the rest of the crew.

All in all, it was a good night.