Pride in the City Family Day at Commodore Barry Park

Pride in the City Family Day
Yesterday we dropped by Pride in the City's Family Day gathering at Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn. I'd never heard of the venue, which is right over the Manhattan Bridge, but I was looking forward to returning to the annual outdoor bazaar and live-music event after a few years' hiatus. Below are a few photos from the afternoon. I was happy to see that the event was more intergenerational than the last few Black prides I'd attended, though I saw fewer women this time than in the past events in Fort Greene or Prospect Parks, and almost no children. It felt like there were fewer booths than at prior New York prides too, though I this could have just been my perception. Another thing C., I and our two friends David and Ndlela noted was that the energy level at this event felt low--the word that initially came to mind was "subdued"--though this could have been because we got there in the (very) late afternoon, after the initial crowds had already passed through and before folks starting showing up after dinnertime. It also could have been because we're all getting older and the excitement of pride celebrations is wearing off, though there were many (maybe half the people there?) people there our age(s). I did run into a number of people, as I always do, including friends and acquaintances from Jersey City, Harlem, Chicago, and everywhere else.

David, Ndlela and C

One of the food tents

One of the social service organization tents

The bazaar from afar

Some of the attendees milling about

At the mainstage

Former 100 Black Men in Law Enforcement head Eric Adams, who's running for a New York State Assembly seat