As Fort Lauderdale has developed over the past 15 years into one of the world's premier gay resort destinations, so to has its annual Stonewall Pride Festival grown and grown. It should be noted that Fort Lauderdale celebrates its main Gay Pride South Florida Festival, Pride Under the Sun earlier in the year (it will take place over the weekend of March 21 and 22 in 2009), and this is also a terrific event, drawing crowds from all over South Florida. The Stonewall Pride Island celebration occurs in late June (June 20-21, in 2009), to honor what many consider to be one of the foremost events in the history of lesbian and gay rights, the Stonewall Riots, which commenced early in the morning on June 28, 1969. It was begun in 2000 and has blossomed into a first-rate, festive celebration in recent years.
Shop for rooms and compare rates at hotels in Fort Lauderdale during Gay Pride.
Many major cities around the world now host their Gay Pride Celebrations around this time, among them Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Toronto.
Fort Lauderdale's Stonewall Pride Festival takes place in the city's gay-popular Wilton Manors community and consists of several events. The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21, and consists of a street fair with some 150 vendors and GLBT organizations, a parade (on Sunday) that leaves from Fort Lauderdale High School and continues down Wilton Drive to Five Points, and a variety of music and comedy performances held throughout the weekend.
Of course, additionally, numerous gay bars as well as gay-popular restaurants, hotels, and shops have special events and parties throughout the week in Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors. Check local gay papers, such as Express Gay News and Hot Spots Magazine, for details.
