The final weekend of June (or, as many members of the LGBTQ+ community have come to know it, the last gasp of Pride Month) is always a hectic, colorful, and busy affair. (That is, unless you go out of your way to avoid the crowds—but, really, where’s the fun in that?) This year, photographer Ryan McGinley was on hand to capture the scene at four different New York City–based events: the Drag March, the Dyke March, Heritage of Pride’s Pride March, and the Queer Liberation March. While each event was carefully organized to express a distinct aspect of queer and trans celebration, the overall effect was one of wide-ranging, sometimes-chaotic joy.
At the 30th anniversary of New York City’s annual Drag March on Saturday, a gathering at Tompkins Square Park turned into a march to the Stonewall Inn, while the Dyke March—which also took place on Saturday and bills itself as a protest march, not a parade—was organized in solidarity with oppressed communities around the world, including those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, Palestine, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Baddie Brooks, DaShawn Usher, Eshe Ukweli, Michelle Visage, Miss Major, Robin Drake, and Raquel Willis served as Heritage of Pride’s grand marshals for the nonprofit’s 2024 march on Sunday, a day that also saw thousands make their way to Battery Park as part of the Queer Liberation March’s sixth annual outing. Below, see all of McGinley’s photos from the four events.