New York City's Drag March Brought the Glamour, Glitter, Feathers, and Leather

The 27th annual Drag March hit the streets of New York City on Friday night, snaking its way from Tompkins Square Park to the Stonewall Inn, site of the 1969 riot against police from which all things Pride originated.

Hundreds of people attended the march, which began in 1994, Gothamist notes, after the city’s “official Pride March banned drag queens, leathermen, and anyone else who might frighten off all the new corporate sponsors who signed on for the big 25th anniversary parade.” Many were emotional once there amongst each other—not surprising, given how the coronavirus pandemic probably kept many of them from showing up last year.

“I feel like I’m ushering in a new era tonight,” one person told Gothamist about the Drag March, which is notably executed without permits from the city. “This is the first time I’m out hugging people without a mask since the pandemic started, and all my friends are here… I feel like it’s one big birthday party.”

Check out photos from New York’s Drag March below.