One of the most popular and fun Gay Pride celebrations of any of the Northeast's smaller cities, Rochester Gay Pride takes place this year over the weekend of July 13 through July 15, but there are a number of events taking place in advance, starting on July 5 with a film screening of Beyond Gay at the city's Jewish Community Center. This year's Rochester Pride Festival, on Saturday, July 14, features a performance by pop star Jessica Sutta, of Pussycat Dolls fame, and earlier that same day, the Rochester Gay Pride Parade will be led by celeb grand marshal Ronnie Kroell, the runner up on TV's hit show Make Me A Super Model. Here's a preview of this year's Rochester Gay Pride celebration, as well as some tips on wine touring and vacationing in the Finger Lakes region, which is just south of Rochester and makes for a beautiful weekend getaway.
Additionally, I recently wrote my syndicated column, which appears in a number of GLBT newspapers around the country, on planning a gay vacation in Upstate New York - in this piece you'll find the lowdown on gay nightlife, cool restaurants, notable attractions, and great hotels and B&Bs in Rochester and the surrounding area. The column also touches on the Finger Lakes as well as another beautiful and enticing area of Upstate New York, the Adirondack Mountains.