That queen is no heroine; in fact, he is every bit as much a hero as the king. Charlie Ferrusi and Tim Howard, the openly gay Hudson High School seniors who ran for Prom King and Queen and won by a landslide in a vote by the student body, made history and headlines a week or so ago, and they have the gay community in Hudson bursting with pride. Well timed, too, as this Sunday, a day-long-plus celebration, Hudson Pride, kicks off with a parade, to be followed by a roster of activities, all commemorating the Stonewall riots, those spontaneous acts of civil disobedience in a Greenwich Village bar that launched the gay liberation movement in 1969. "We had been hearing people talk about the Gay Pride Parade and were only mildly interested," says the artist and designer Frank Faulkner of he and his partner, Philip Kesinger, a retired FBI agent. "But when this thing at Hudson High hit last week, we realized that everyone needs to get behind it. It's as tremendous in its way as Stonewall was. So when we heard that the boys had agreed to be Grand Marshals of the parade, we immediately offered to drive them in our convertible."
The celebration officially kicks off on Saturday across the river in Catskill, switching to Hudson that evening, June 19th, when an already sold-out sunset cruise on the Spirit of Hudson departs from Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Then on Sunday at noon, the parade leaves 7th and Warren for a two-mile crawl down to Promenade Hill. There the Hudson Pride Festival, a rally with speakers (including the Prom Kids), vendors, music and performances, will go on all afternoon. From 5 - 9 p.m. there will a tea dance, which, ironically, the Grand Marshals of the parade are not old enough to attend. But they and their friends are welcome to attend a talk, "Stonewall, It All Started Here," by Ed Beaty, one of the original participants in the riots Kevin Moran, owner of (pm) Winebar in Hudson and one of the organizers of the events, says, "We're partnering with Catskill to have a gay pride weekend, instead of just a day. Saturday will be mostly events in Catskill; Sunday is all Hudson." Asked if he thought the prom connection had given the event a shot of adrenalin, Moran said, "We already were doing a good job of getting the word out. In fact, Charlie and Timmy came to one of our meetings. They said they wanted to get a bunch of high school kids—gays, friends of gays, parents of gays— to march in the parade, which amazed us, because we didn't think the school would want to have anything to do with it. So we were excited enough that they were going to be in the parade. We didn't hear about the prom thing until after it happened. That supercharged it.". Hudson Pride ParadeWarren Street, Sunday, June 20, starts at noon Hudson Pride FestivalPromenade Hill, Sunday, June 20, 1 - 5 p.m. "Stonewall; It All Started Here" (all ages are welcome) A talk by Stonewall participant Ed Beaty Space 360Sunday, June 20, 5 - 6 p.m. Hudson Pride Tea Dance (21 & over) Red Dot 321 Warren Street 5 - 9 p.m.
