Pride Month emerged from the events of June 28, 1969, when New York City police raided a gay club — the Stonewall Inn — which led to a neighborhood riot and several days of violent clashes with law enforcement.
The Stonewall uprising became a springboard for the gay rights movement and the following year the first Pride marches were held in the city. Three decades later a proclamation from former president Bill Clinton made it official, and June became Pride Month in the U.S.
To commemorate this history in Winston-Salem, there’ll be a host of LGBTQ celebrations this week — wine and beverage tastings, music bingo, and more — all leading up to Saturday’s Pride Winston-Salem Festival in the Arts District downtown which starts at 10 a.m. The annual parade on Fourth Street gets underway an hour later followed by live entertainment on two outdoor stages on Trade Street rain or shine.
In Greensboro there’ll be a Pride Bar Crawl on Saturday and a Paint Your Pride crafting event on Sunday. And the following Friday, June 28 it’ll be the Pride March to Remember marking 55 years since the Stonewall uprising.