Who will be the grand marshal in the NYC Pride Parade of 2009?”
As we prepare to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, Stonewall Columbus is pleased to announce that World War II veteran Rupert “Twink” Starr is our Parade Grand Marshal for 2009. Mr. Starr is a retired decorated veteran who was captured during World War II and who spent time in a Prisoner of War camp. He has spent much of his retired life fighting against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy currently in place in the US Military. This June, “Twink” will visit Europe and will tour the site where he was imprisoned many years ago. The day after he returns to Columbus, Stonewall Columbus will honor him as the Grand Marshal of Pride 2009. After all these years, “Twink” will have the homecoming that he so very much deserves and you are invited to march and celebrate with him.
Forty years ago, a little bar in the West Village spawned a powerful movement for gay civil rights in America. Sunday, the area will host plenty of activists again. Not to mention one big party. The NYC Pride March commemorates the Stonewall riots, which erupted after a police raid on a gay bar, the Stonewall Inn on Christopher St., in 1969. The riots, which launched the gay-rights movement, have given way to thousands of peaceful marchers, more than 170 eye-popping floats and 350 volunteers. Beginning at noon, participants from all walks of life will trek from Fifth Ave. in midtown to Greenwich Village in celebration of gay pride. For six attendees, the march through Manhattan is just one part of the journey. ALEX HEIMBERG, AKA MISS UNDERSTOOD Role: Marcher in drag Miss Understood, who’s been in films like “Sex and the City” and TV shows like “Project Runway,” has been involved with the Pride scene for nearly 20 years, attending the parade for the fun of it as well as marching alongsi
