Pride Month wraps up in New York City this weekend with 53rd Annual Pride March
NEW YORK -- New York City is getting ready for a big weekend of events celebrating Pride Month.
On Sunday, streets are expected to be packed for the annual Pride March, but there are a host of other events happening around town.
Pride was powerfully magnified in Times Square with a Friday afternoon concert with big Broadway stars. The theme of the show: time to embrace, not erase.
"We're getting to see several shows and only had to pay for tickets for one," said Karen Pease, from Ohio.
"It's my first time in New York, so seeing all of this is just a really cool experience," said Lilly Pease, from Ohio.
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Outside the Stonewall Inn, credited as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, we found prideful reactions.
"I love Pride. I love the inclusion," one person said.
"Pride is the best because we get to be ourselves and be with all the people love us," another person said.
Watch Dave Carlin's report
The Pride March is the big event on Sunday, starting at 25th Street and heading south along Fifth Avenue.
Also Sunday is Pride Island Dance on the Pier with headliner Christina Aguilera, who CBS2's Dave Carlin caught on Friday as she signed autographs on the sidewalk on Christopher Street, steps away from the Stonewall Inn.
"I'm really excited for Christina's performance. I think it's going to be so iconic," one fan said.
Elsewhere in the city, you can find art exhibits with LGBTQIA+ themes at numerous museums, Broadway shows that celebrate trans and non-binary characters, and a trio of Off-Broadway offerings bring LGBTQIA+ experiences to life.
Justin Huertas created the story and music and stars in "Lizard Boy," about a young man with green skin and scales who becomes a hero.
"It's a great pregame to your Pride festivities. This is a place to just, like, feel yourself, feel your power, stand in your power, be your awesome queer self, and then go out there as the superhero you are and then party," Huertas said.
James T. Lane created and starred in "Triple Threat," playing now at Theatre Row, about his own life as an actor, singer and dancer.
"It's my life story," he said. "You can rise like the phoenix out of so many things that kind of weigh you down, and your story matters."
Actor Theo McKenna is in Shakespeare's "As You Like it," produced by Smith Street Stage at Brooklyn's Carroll Park, with free performances and an LGBTQ twist.
"It's definitely a very welcoming event for all ages, all people, especially for the queer community," he said.
A rainbow crosswalk at Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue got a fresh coat of paint Friday night.
"I'm really excited that we're able to give it the glam that it deserves just in time for the NYC Pride March this weekend," said Dan Dimant, with New York City Pride.
This comes on the heels of four acts of vandalism outside the historic Stonewall Inn over the last three weeks.
"This is kind of cowards who are really trying to silence our community, and we're not going to stand for it. For every flag they take, we'll put two down," said Sandra Perez, with New York City Pride.
Friday was Stonewall Day at Hudson Yards, with a number of special guests acknowledging the past, present and future of the LGBTQIA+ community.
"If you are not speaking out for the protection, the rights, the dignity and the agency of trans children and their parents, we need you to be better allies," Stonewall Day Ambassador Chelsea Clinton said.
As the city celebrates Pride, the Stonewall National Monument Visitors Center will soon be erected where the rebellion began 54 years ago; it will be the first LGBTQ+ visitors center in the National Parks system. It's expected to open next June on the 55th anniversary of Stonewall.
