On June 24, Pride Live held an official groundbreaking ceremony for the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center (SNMVC), which is the first LGBTQ+ visitor center within the National Park System.
Slated to open on June 28, 2024, the SNMVC will occupy nearly 3,700 square feet at 51 Christopher St., between Waverly Place and 7th Avenue South in New York City. With support from Google, the groundbreaking ceremony was live streamed at YouTube.com/c/pridelive.
The ceremony included remarks from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, National Parks Service Director Chuck Sams, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, NYC City Council Member Erik Bottcher and Gautam Raghavan, Director of Presidential Personnel, in addition to Pride Live Board President Ann Marie Gothard, Geena Rocero and Angelica Ross, among others.
Notable attendees included designer Michael Kors and husband Lance LePere, and models Stella Maxwell and Valentina Sampaio in addition to numerous other supporters from JPMorgan Chase, The Kors Le Pere Foundation, Google, AARP, Amazon, David Yurman, New York Yankees, the NFL and Target.
Also, Bravo's Andy Cohen was also joined by Anderson Cooper and Billy Eichner for a live taping of his Sirius XM show, Radio Andy, during the groundbreaking ceremony.
In addition, following the ceremony, Pride Live hosted Stonewall Dayan annual national day of awareness to commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion.
This event featured a headlining performance from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Kesha, with additional performances from Betty, Mila Jam and Shea Diamond, as well as choreography by Stonewall Day Creative Director Kellen Stancil.
The celebration featured video messages from 44th U.S. President Barack Obama; writer and global health advocate Chelsea Clinton; musician Adam Lambert; musician Rufus Wainwright; SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Evelyn; actor Billy Porter; musician/drag queen Conchita Wurst; and Olympic diver Tom Daley and his husband, Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
Attendees at this event included Davi Santos, Gus Kenworthy and Malia Civetz, among others.