Pride Month for the LGBT communities kicked off on June 1st with the international theme, “Pride Around the World.” The month of June began with hundreds of couples taking part in Civil Union ceremonies and will wind down with the Chicago 42nd Annual Pride Parade on Sunday June 26 at 12 Noon. The parade starts at the corner of Halsted Street and Belmont Avenue.
Between those two events, there are close to one hundred different social, cultural, political and athletic events taking place during LGBT Pride Month. Some of those events include: choral concerts, workshops, plays, parties, receptions, dances, a street fest and 5K &10K runs, to name a few.
The Grand Marshal for the Chicago 42nd Annual Pride Parade on Sunday June 26 is Fernanda Rocha, the newest cast member of the “Real Housewives of Orange County” on the Bravo Network. This is the sixth season of the hit franchise and Fernanda is the first lesbian cast member. She is truly an American success story. She came to the U.S. from Brazil ten years ago where she was a fitness trainer with a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology. She worked hard, developed a clothing line, exercise videos and co-owns her own exercise studio. Recently, she was active in the NoHate8 Campaign in California and she is taping a video for the “It Gets Better Project” that supports LGBT youth. (Her expanded bio is on our web site, ChicagoPrideCalendar.org.) She will be riding in a classic car near the front of this year’s Chicago Annual Pride Parade.
For more information: PRIDEChicago (parade coordinator: Richard Pfeiffer) : web site: www.ChicagoPrideCalendar.org