The main Gay Pride event for the large and well-connected LGBT community throughout Long Island is Long Island Gay Pride, and this includes both a Pride Dance in Sayville, and the 22nd Annual Long Island Gay Pride Parade and Festival, held in the town of Huntington on Saturday, June 9, 2012. Note that Sayville is the port town for ferry service to the hugely popular gay resorts towns of Cherry Grove and the Pines on Fire Island. So if you're out on Fire Island at this time, consider heading over the Sayville and Huntington for these Pride celebrations.
Book rooms and compare rates on hotels on Long Island during Gay Pride.
Details about Long Island Gay Pride 2012 will be posted here as they become available. Here's a look at last year's event, in the meantime.
The Long Island Gay Pride Dance in Sayville takes place Saturday, from 8 pm until midnight at the Sayville VFW Hall (400 Lakeland Ave.), which is just off Sunrise Highway (Rte. 27).
The the Long Island Pride Rally Parade & Festival in the Park takes place in the town of Huntington, which has direct service to Manhattan via Long Island Railroad (it's about a 70-minute train ride from NYC's Penn Station). The Pride rally starts at noon, at the starting point for the Parade, the city parking lot opposite the Huntington Post Office, at New York Avenue and Gerard Street.
The Pride Parade begins at 1 pm and runs east along Huntington's Main Street to the site of the Long Island Pride Festival, Hecksher Park (at Main St. and Prime Ave.). The festival is free of charge and lasts throughout the afternoon - there's entertainment, food vendors, a community fair, and kids' areas.
Additionally, plenty of gay-popular restaurants, hotels, and shops will be extra busy during the weekend, and catering heavily to LGBT visitors. Check local gay papers and resources, such as the Columbia Fun Maps guide to Gay Long Island. Resources on Fire Island include the Fire Island News. Also take a look at the travel site produced by the region's official tourism organization, the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau.
