“It has gone from being a statement of advocacy and protest to being much more of a celebration of gay life,” Sean Clarkin, 67, said of New York City’s annual parade while enjoying a drink recently at Julius’s, one of the oldest gay bars in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.

Dan Dimant, a spokesperson for Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit that organizes New York City’s parade, said this year’s march will still be festive, with floats and “people dancing and celebrating.”.

Celebrations are now global, taking place throughout the year in multiple countries, with many of the biggest parades taking place in June.

In New York City, the Queer Liberation March takes place at the same time as the traditional parade, billing itself as the “antidote to the corporate-infused, police-entangled, politician-heavy Parades that now dominate Pride celebrations.”

And I think the New York City Pride Parade does a very excellent job of that.”