Back in New York
Roman Forisch, a native of Salzburg and certified Austria Guide, tells the story of how the Pride Boat of the HOSI Salzburg came into being, back in New York.
“On June 28, 1969, early in the morning at 1:20 a.m., a police raid was conducted at the Stonewall Inn in New York. The target was the gays, trannies and drag queens mourning the death of the gay icon “Judy Garland” (Over the rainbow) in the popular scene bar. The struggle against the permanent discrimination and repression by the police ignited on this arbitrary raid and lasted five days. It was the beginning of the lesbian and gay movement. That was 52 years ago now!
Until 2001 I still lived in New York and the Gay Pride Parade was always a fixed point in the annual calendar. After the parade, the party continued – on the Hudson River with the Pride Boat. A New York highlight.
Today on Lake Wolfgang
After returning home, I immediately organized such a party on the water. First on the Mondsee and Attersee. This year, 51 years after the start of the Gay Pride movement, we’ll celebrate on the MS Salzburg on Lake Wolfgang on June 20, 2020, like millions of gays and lesbians in New York and around the world.”
The Pride Boat weekend is embedded in numerous events. For example, there is a queer city tour or a fetish flea market. And this year with a welcome evening on 19.06. in the Rooftop Bar of the arte Hotel at Salzburg’s main station.
Due to current events, it is unfortunately not yet certain whether the Pride Boat will be able to depart this year. At the moment (as of 27.03.2020) it does not look like it. At least for the 20th of June. But who knows? Maybe everything will turn out completely different than predicted and we can have a “welcome-back-to-life” party on the boat on June 20? Maybe we’ll do a spur-of-the-moment event? Or maybe we’ll postpone the Pride Boat until the fall. As soon as there is something new about this, it will be here.
After Corona threw all plans for 2020 and 2021 out the window, we are planning a Pride Boat 2022 – again on Lake Wolfgang. Perhaps combined with a tour of the Schafsberg. We will see.
Stay tuned! Here at gaysalzburg.at
Marsha and Sylvia
The much under-recognized heroines of Stonewall were Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Johnson was an African-American transgender woman and LGBT activist, and was particularly vocal about her support for trans people of color. Johnson was a regular guest at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, along with Sylvia Rivera.
The Salzburg Pride through the ages
From 27 August to 3 September it's Prideweek and Pride in Salzburg again. The preparations are already going on intensively. Conny Felice, executive director of HOSI Salzburg talks here with gaysalzburg.at about the planning status of Prideweek 2023, the new dynamic that HOSI Salzburg has developed since its move to Franz-Josef Straße and a reckoning from which lessons are learned.
This will be the Salzburg Pride 2023
Salzburg Pride 2023 will probably continue the positive development of the last three years. Never before have the social conditions in the city of Mozart been better. This year, the HOSI Salzburg wants to take the Pride Festival to the next level. With a lot of support from Salzburg's city society. The programme for 27.08.-3.09. has now been finalised.