NYC Gay Pride Parade 2012: Parade Route Map, LGTB Events

Impact

New York’s 2012 Gay Pride week is in full swing, with a parade — one of the world’s biggest — set for Sunday.

The parade will start in Midtown at 12 p.m. and will string its way into West Village. Thousands are expected along the parade route.

And it’ll be a hot one. Temperatures are expected to reach into the mid-80s, with even warmer temps expected in the concrete mess that is Midtown. The weather will only make the parade spicier. Expect throngs of muscular, tanned men in string bikinis dancing their heart’s content to Deadmau5 techno beats.

The March starts at noon on Sunday, and will go straight through the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The parade will begin at 5th Avenue and 36th Street and wind its way downtown to the intersection of Christopher and Greenwich streets in the West Village. 

Here's the official NYC Pride Parade route map, giving you the full Monty on where the parade will be.

The gay community will also be celebrating a special anniversary: One year ago today, marriage equality was signed into law in New York.

As this is the must-see event of Gay Pride in New York City, organizers said they are expecting thousands of spectators. Better get there early.

"Grand Marshals at NYC Pride March this year are Cyndi Lauper, Chris Salgardo, Phyllis Siegel, and Connie Kopelov," according to Times Square Chronicles. 

NYCpride.org, the site which promotes the parade and weekend events was down due to traffic capacity problems. [Bookmark and refresh this page for live coverage and notes of the event]

[Here are 10 fun ways to celebrate Gay Pride month

As highlighted on Times Square Chronicles

PRIDEfest is held on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. along Hudson Street between Abingdon Square and W. 14th St., at the junction of three neighborhoods: Chelsea, the West Village, and the Meatpacking District. The festive (and free) LGBT street fair features dozens of vendors, entertainers, and community organizations. Performers include Jessica Betts, Ryan W, Beleke, Amdias, Christine Martucci, the Glamazons, and several others.The Dance on the Pier provides a grand finale for New York City Gay Pride. Thousands of LGBT revelers and friends congregate on Pier 57 (15th St. at the Hudson River) following the Pride March, at 5 p.m. on Sunday until 2 a.m. Headlining this year are DJs Eddie Baez, the Perry Twins, and DJ Boris, and there will be a special performance by Cyndi Lauper, Eva Simons, and other notables.

Background: New York City celebrates Gay Pride for a full week each June (June 17 to June 24, 2012), to honor what many consider to be one of the foremost events in the history of lesbian and gay rights, the Stonewall Riots, which commenced early in the morning on June 28, 1969.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to properly cite language that was originally used without attribution to Times Square Chronicles. We apologize to our readers for this violation of our basic editorial standards. Mic has put in place new mechanisms, including plagiarism detection software, to ensure that this does not happen in the future.