New York Pride was different this year, but no less important

The official Pride event was cancelled in April, but that didn’t stop people going out, and the timely fusion with Black Lives Matter became an incredible expression of civil rights, says Holly Baxter

The Stonewall Inn recalls its part in the gay community’s demonstrations this week in 1969 (Getty)

Usually at this time in New York, Pride celebrations would be in full swing: official parades, corporate sponsors and rainbow cake specials would abound. This year, as with everything, the arrangements have been a little different. New York only just began reopening, and I started my weekend with the first boozy brunch I’ve had in four months. My friend got on the subway – the subway! – to meet me for the occasion, dressed in long plastic gloves and two masks layered on top of one another (a rainbow Pride mask on the top, and a normal surgical one underneath). We met early on Sunday in the blazing sunshine and wandered the streets of Brooklyn looking for establishments which had built the obligatory outdoor areas that would allow them to open up under Phase Two arrangements.

Eventually, we settled on one of our usual, pre-quarantine places, which had constructed a sort of marquee in the road with plastic chairs and tables. Squashed between the drain and the busy street, we couldn’t have been happier. There were huevos rancheros and strawberry margaritas! There were truffle fries and plates we didn’t have to wash up ourselves! We were allowed to see each other’s unmasked faces for the brief period we were sat in our outdoor haven eating food! After months locked up inside our one-room studio apartments and fearing the worst, it felt like we were reclaiming a teeny, tiny piece of joy – even if we did sweat a lot and use up most of a bottle of factor 50 sun cream.

One second things are heating up, and the next you’re back in Washington Square Park, listening to a peaceful, powerful speech – and then you’re at a bar sipping on a Pride Lemonade