Connect with us

Boston, MA

Where to Celebrate the Boston Pride Parade This Year

Published

on

Where to Celebrate the Boston Pride Parade This Year


Boston is a city brimming with history. The world sees us as a land of Puritans, revolutionaries, Kennedys, and sports fanatics; but what they may not know is that we have a rich tradition of queer people here, too. Historical evidence suggests that the area’s Indigenous Shawmut people, who lived here before Europeans colonized the area, valued queer members of their communities. Well-documented scholarship also suggests that Boston was a haven for queer thinkers and creatives in the 19th century, including prominent naturalist and writer Henry David Thoreau, and famed gender-bending stage actress Charlotte Cushman. By the start of the twentieth century, “Boston Marriages” were a widespread phrase to describe a co-habitating lesbian couple. And after World War II, the city’s South End neighborhood swelled with a population of gay veterans looking to start their post-war lives anew.

But Boston is not just a city of acceptance; it’s also a place for political action. In 1975, Elaine Noble became the first only gay person elected to any state legislature, and just last year, in 2022, the state elected Maura Healey as governor, the first openly lesbian person in the country to hold that office. In 2004, Massachusetts broke ground in becoming the first state to allow same-sex marriage. Boston has held Pride parades since 1971, when the first was attended by about 300 people; and in the almost 50 years that followed, those annual attendance figures swelled to about 750,000.

The pandemic, unfortunately, made celebrating Pride a challenge and curtailed the city’s June festivities for not one, not two, but three consecutive years. Finally, this year on June 10th, Boston’s Pride Parade is back in full force, in addition to a month-long explosion of celebrations across the city. And there’s something truly unique and poignant about experiencing this progressively modern community juxtaposed with the city’s centuries-old streets and architecture; underscoring the idea that history is not just something you look at, but something in which you can participate. If you’re looking to celebrate Pride in Boston this year by making a little history of your own, here’s how to do it. 

Where to watch the 2023 Pride parade in Boston make its return

The Boston Pride Parade makes its triumphant return this year on Saturday, June 10th. The Parade route kicks off from Copley Square at 11:00 AM, traveling down Clarendon Street to the South End, hooking over to Tremont Street and doubling back up Berkeley Street, before turning right on Boylston, left on Charles Street, then right up Beacon Street before concluding atop Beacon Hill at the State House. That means the best way to travel to the parade will be taking the Orange Line to Back Bay Station, then the Green Line to Arlington Station, and following the crowds from there. The parade concludes near not one but two separate festivals, both running from noon to 6:00 PM: There will be an all-ages Main Stage on the Boston Common that includes local performers and speakers; a 21+, adults-only festival will take place on City Hall Plaza. 

Advertisement

And outside these two official festivals, the city’s bars, from Fenway to the North End, will swell with activity. Nash Bar & Stage is doing a “Daisy Dukes Mechanical Bull Party” complete with prizes and giveaways. Popular PRIDE Bar Fest block party will take over Landsdowne Street; the ticketed event includes a number of drag shows and live performances, as well as a queer artists’ market. And if you’re still standing come nightfall, Baja-inspired Mexican restaurant Citrus & Salt will throw a “Love Out Loud Late-Night Fiesta” in partnership with 818 Tequila.

Where to eat and drink during Boston Pride Month

Speaking of tequila, take a look at any given bar or restaurant menu in Boston this month and you’re likely to find a Pride-themed cocktail dedicating a portion of proceeds going to an LGBTQ+ charity. Charlestown neighborhood haunt Waverly Kitchen & Bar is serving rainbow ice cream chipwiches and a rainbow spritz, and Harvard Square eatery Source will offer Proud Piña Coladas with a rainbow sparkle rim, all in support of the Trevor Project. The Banks Fish House is pouring purple “Miss Frizzle” beer, and Saloniki Greek is pulling rainbow frozen yogurt—both for BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. And Greek fast-casual eatery Greco’s warm rainbow Loukoumades Greek donuts are a delicious way to show some allyship. 



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Boston, MA

Insider: Boston Bruins have interviewed ‘about 15 guys’ for coaching vacancy

Published

on

Insider: Boston Bruins have interviewed ‘about 15 guys’ for coaching vacancy


It sounds like Don Sweeney and Cam Neely are doing their diligence as they search for the next coach of the Bruins.

On SportsNet’s “32 Thoughts” podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said the buzz around the league is that just about everybody has been on Boston’s radar.

“I’ve heard they’ve interviewed about 15 guys,” Friedman said. “I asked someone, ‘Who do you think Boston has interviewed?’ The response was, ‘Who haven’t they interviewed?’”

Friedman then shared the names of some of the candidates.

Advertisement

“(Marco) Strum,” Friedman said. “I assume (Jay) Leach. I think (Jeff) Halpern and (Jeff) Blashill. I think they’re also in on Mitch Love. Joe Sacco. But I think there’s more and more.”

Interim coach Sacco and Bruins assistant Leach are obvious interview candidates, while some of the other names are interesting, too.

Sturm, Boston’s hero in the 2010 Winter Classic, has been a Kings assistant since 2018. Halpern has won a pair of Stanley Cups as a Lightning assistant, while Blashill spent seven seasons coaching the Red Wings (2015-22) before his dismissal. Love is a Capitals assistant who is also rumored to be on Pittsburgh’s radar.

When Sweeney spoke after the NHL Draft lottery earlier this month, he was pleased with the feedback he’d been getting from candidates.

“This is an exciting opportunity for coaches to be interviewing for this position, and that’s the indication that they would be very excited about maybe being the head coach of the Boston Bruins,” Sweeney said. “That’s the first and foremost thing that’s come across, happy to be part of the selection of being interviewed, and more fortunate they are.

Advertisement

“I think they’re starting to gather information on the roster and the players that we have in place. And, first question people ask in terms of how healthy we’re going to be and the return to that full health so that players, that they expect impact (from) will be back to do what they do. But the overriding excitement as we are to turn a page and come to the decision that we’ve got the right guy in place.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Receiver of troubled Boston nursing home defends hire of disgraced ex-senator Dianne Wilkerson

Published

on

Receiver of troubled Boston nursing home defends hire of disgraced ex-senator Dianne Wilkerson


A court-appointed receiver of a financially-strapped Boston nursing home defended his hire of disgraced ex-senator Dianne Wilkerson, after “allegations of nepotism and self-dealing” were lodged against her in Superior Court last month.

In a post-hearing order, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Christopher Belezos, who is overseeing hearings regarding the receivership of Roxbury’s Edgar P. Benjamin Healthcare Center, raised “significant concerns” about the considerable pay Wilkerson testified that she was making at a facility on the brink of bankruptcy.

“On April 16, the court heard testimony from several witnesses regarding allegations of nepotism and self-dealing by a member of the receivership’s team,” Belezos wrote in the April 22 order. “The subject of such allegations, Ms. Wilkerson offered, under pains of penalties of perjury, testimony that she is an employee of the EPBHC, receiving full benefits, being paid at a rate of $82 per hour, working an average of 90 hours per week.

“If such testimony is accurate, it raises significant concerns as to the rate of remuneration being paid to Ms. Wilkerson by an institution in receivership with a projected 2025 loss in the area of $4.4 million,” the judge added.

Advertisement

Wilkerson, an ex-state senator whose political career ended after she was busted by the feds for taking a bribe, is executive assistant to Joseph Feaster, the court-appointed receiver of the troubled nursing home.

She was present for a hearing held Thursday in Superior Court, but didn’t take part in the day’s proceedings, and deferred comment to Feaster.

Speaking with reporters after a roughly half-hour hearing, Feaster defended his decision to hire Wilkerson and her compensation, in the wake of last month’s mismanagement allegations. He described Wilkerson as “talented” and said she was thoroughly vetted before being added to the facility’s receivership team.

“Donald Trump has a past, and he’s president of the United States,” Feaster said when asked about Wilkerson’s checkered past. “She served her time. She doesn’t have a CORI. She has nothing which would preclude her from working, and so that has to be the determinant.

“So that was looked at, because I certainly am not going to have any situation which would be problematic for the organization or for me,” he said. “She’s employable and she’s talented.”

Advertisement

Wilkerson resigned from the state Senate in 2008 and spent more than two years in jail after agreeing to plead guilty to charges tied to a federal corruption bust. She was infamously shown stuffing $1,000 in cash bribes into her bra in a photo that was released by the feds.

Feaster said Wilkerson didn’t perjure herself on the stand last month, when she testified about her compensation. He said there was a “misinterpretation” about his assistant’s testimony, when she said she works 90 hours a week, when in fact, she gets paid on a bi-weekly basis for a total of 80 hours.

“I think that she was saying I work more hours than what I get paid for, and what we wanted to confirm is that … she only gets paid for bi-weekly, 80 hours,” Feaster said.

Wilkerson told the Herald last month that it’s true that she makes $82 an hour and works 90 hours a week, but “no one asked me a third question.”

“How many hours do I actually get paid for? And the answer to that question is 40. That’s all,” she said at the time.

Advertisement

Feaster also said he saw Wilkerson’s hourly rate as reasonable, given that he makes $450 an hour as the facility’s receiver.

Benjamin Healthcare, which has roughly 80 patients, was placed into receivership last April to avoid the facility’s closure and allow it to begin a financial turnaround. Wilkerson was hired as Feaster’s executive assistant upon his appointment as receiver at that time.

This week’s hearing centered around the facility’s finances, whether receivership should be continued and what the court-appointed team’s contingency plan was if a buyer doesn’t materialize from the bid process.

In a May 14 court filing from Feaster, the “receiver informed the court” at the April 16 hearing “that the most viable path forward for the facility to continue operating would be through soliciting proposals for third party owner/operator.”

Belezos, the judge, pressed for a breakdown of the facility’s financial information from the receivership team, and set a deadline for May 29.

Advertisement

A lawyer for Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office, which represents state agencies like the Department of Health, said the state wants to keep the Roxbury facility open, rather than move forward with a closure and transfer of patients.

To try to recover funds, Feaster is pursuing a civil lawsuit that has been filed against the facility’s former administrator, Tony Francis, who ran the Benjamin before he was appointed as receiver, Commonwealth Beacon reported.

The lawsuit alleges that Francis “siphoned” more than $3 million in funds from the facility, per a prior court filing from Feaster.

The matter returns to court on June 28.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Defiant Knicks fans brush off Game 5 blowout, blast ‘cocky’ Celtics supporters in Boston: ‘Worst city in America’

Published

on

Defiant Knicks fans brush off Game 5 blowout, blast ‘cocky’ Celtics supporters in Boston: ‘Worst city in America’


Knicks fans brushed off their team’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 — and still talked trash to their rival’s fanbase outside TD Garden Wednesday night.

“F–k Boston,” said Brooklyn resident Rick Haddad, 18, outside the Beantown venue. “It’s the worst city in America. Worst people, worst culture, worst sports team.”

His buddy Edward Dweck then took a shot at the Celtics’ home arena.

“This is a fake garden. This is a p—y-ass garden,” the 18-year-old Brooklynite yapped. “I’ve never heard of TD Garden, only Madison [Square] Garden and the Botanical [Garden].”

Advertisement
Knicks fan Kevin Shah outside Boston’s TD Garden Wednesday night after New York’s loss. David McGlynn

The Brooklyn pals were among scores of fans who were still defiant after New York lost 127-102, which will stretch the series to at least six games.

The Knickerbockers are still up 3-2.

“You ain’t been paying attention,” Kevin Shah huffed.

“You don’t see patterns. Game f–king 6 at home. It’s gotta be.”

“The formula is you go all do your thing and you get cocky, and we punch you in the mouth without knowing it,” said Shah, a Bronxville native who now lives in Ohio.

Advertisement

“The whole time it’s been the formula, dog,” he continued to rant. “Every time they got full of themselves, they got met with a reality check, bitch.”

Knicks supporters brushed off the crushing Game 5 loss. David McGlynn

Even Mayor Eric Adams got involved with a two-word response to the disappointing loss.

“BUCK FOSTON,” Hizzoner tweeted.

Another fan outside TD Garden, David G., shouted “Knicks in six” for several minutes as fans left the venue.

“It’s OK. We are good, buddy,” he said. “Knicks in six. We are good.”

Advertisement

“I’m getting a lot of f–k yous, but I don’t care,” he added as a pair of Boston fans told him to pipe down.

“We just kicked your ass! Jesus. Shut the f–k up!” an angry Celtics fan shouted at him while another screamed, “You smell like s–t.”

A group of girls decked out in Knicks jerseys also felt the wrath of some insufferable Boston fans who shouted, “Keep walking! Go home! Go back to New York!”

Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet (40) dunks against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Boston. AP

Back in the Empire State outside MSG, fans were clamoring for another shot at the Celtics.  

“Jaylen Brown thinks he’s all hot s–t. He f–king sucks, bro,” Nia Newkirk, 25, said of the Boston guard.

Advertisement

“He is not the best driver in the NBA. He’s not the best driver on his team, bro. You needed [Boston forward] Jayson Tatum. Y’all got f–king lucky tonight. Knicks in six.”

The series heads back to the Big Apple for Game 6 Friday night, where the Knicks will have another shot to close out the Celtics and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

A Celtics fan shows off his team’s logo after Boston’s win in Game 5 Wednesday night. David McGlynn

“I don’t care about Boston. Boston’s a bitch,” said Bronx resident Damion Jones, 30. “They, they always be a bitch … Oh, man, f–k Boston. We lost because of us. Yes, we lost because of us.” 

Hoboken resident Liam Walker, who rooted for the Knicks inside the watch party inside the world’s most famous arena, predicted beldam if New York took Game 5 or wins Friday.  

“I mean, there’s like way more people here [inside the Garden on Friday], they’ll be like hundreds of people outside, like it would be people going like crazy,” he said.

Advertisement

“It would just be like a riot in the streets. It would be awesome.”



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending