Long Island Pride returning as in-person event in June

Forced by the pandemic to go remote in 2020, the Long Island Pride celebration returns as an in-person event this June.

The 2021 celebration is scheduled to take place on June 13 at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, with a four-hour concert at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater from noon to 4 p.m., Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and New York LGBT Network President and CEO David Kilmnick said.

The event will have a strict 500-person capacity limit due to continuing COVID-19 protocols, as established by the New York State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, and organizers said proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required to attend.

Long Island Pride said the decision to return to an in-person event despite the ongoing pandemic was made after a recent survey by the New York LGBT Network, which received more than 500 responses in a day. More than 70% of respondents were hopeful of an in-person event and more than 80% supported a COVID-19 vaccination as a requirement to attend.

"After a year of staying in, we are excited and thrilled to be OUT," Kilmnick said in a statement, adding: "The return of Long Island Pride to an in-person event will bring the community together proudly and safely. People are ready for this and Pride is more than just an event; it's a state of being, a beacon of hope and a powerful display of diversity and unity that is sorely needed in these times."

Curran hailed the return of Long Island Pride as an in-person event.

"Pride is a special month for so many of our residents, and Nassau County is thrilled that we’ll be able celebrate it safely and in-person," Curran said in a statement. "As more and more residents get vaccinated, events like these will be just the beginning."

For its first 26 years, Long Island Pride, which last year celebrated its 30th anniversary, hosted the event in Huntington.

It then had a three-year stint in Long Beach, beginning in 2017, but elected not to return to the city after officials billed the organization $70,000 — a move that led to claims of discrimination, since Long Island Pride said other groups were not charged to run special events in Long Beach.

Long Beach officials called discrimination allegations "nothing short of unconscionable." City leaders said last year they were reviewing their options to recoup owed payments, but remained at odds.

The celebration was scheduled to move to Jones Beach in 2020, before all major events were canceled statewide due to coronavirus protocols.

Tickets and sponsorships are available at lipride.org. Remote participation will be available via livestream.

With John Asbury

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”