It has plenty of theme nights and its smaller size makes it perfect for meeting people.Īddiction Those who like to be too cool for school should head to Addiction, the Modern hotel's onsite gay-friendly bars and nightclub. This poolside bar's vibe makes it well worth a visit.īacchus Next door to the SurfJack is Bacchus, dubbed Honolulu's friendliest neighbourhood gay bar. This fantastic place highlights the best design of Hawaii's past and has a great set-up, with poolside night-time movies on a big screen, and live music on varying nights at the Mahina Lounge. And in Honolulu, the party continues all year round. After six-hours in the sunshine, it was time to go to the afterparty at Hula's Bar and Lei Stand. People from all over the world partied together, but the best were locals making sure everyone had the time of their lives.īut wait, there's more. A marine biologist, who was a pole dancer the night before at Scarlet, taught me to not judge books by their covers. It was a real learning experience for me after a fascinating conversation with a group of millennials I came away with a better understanding of what being gender-neutral and gender-fluid can mean.
Among the bars and dance floors that traversed the winding green, I met locals from all walks of life - lesbians, bisexuals, gay, trans, queer and more.
Diamond Head Greens was a revelation, all set up for an afternoon party. Tourists from all over the world flooded out on to the street.īut the best was yet to come. As the others boogied to ABBA's Dancing Queen, I was happy to sit and take it all in, politely waving my flag at the supporters packing the streets.īy the time we got to the main drag I felt very special indeed - a sense of pride mixed with the joy of riding down the centre of the street set in the midst the iconic Waikiki skyline. It may surprise you to learn I'm actually a very shy man, and not used to dancing on a float. Our float, although not as bright as others, was decorated in local fauna, with plenty of mai tais on board and I think we had the best tunes blaring along the route. Auckland Pride Parade take note, the military and the police were invited to participate in the parade, but they did not.Īs I arrived, families were already lined up to check out the floats, which were a visual feast spanning the different facets of the Oahu gay community and its supporters.
#Honolulu gay pride 2021 free#
The parade is free and open to everyone who wants to take part. New Zealand has a float there too and there's plenty of room for extras. If you want to ride on a float in the next Honolulu Pride Parade, just ask. For this parade, I wasn't simply a spectator - I was going to be joining the fun and taking part. I had woken up slightly worse for wear, after a big night at Scarlet, the hottest gay club in town, and had to rush to make it for the 9.30am call time. The parade travels along Kalakaua Avenue through the heart of Waikīkī and wraps up by joining the Festival celebration at Diamond Head Greens. It offers a stunning vista, with yachts moored to the left and the sea glistening against a swathe of rainbow colour. Home base for the floats - and the parade's starting point - is Magic Island, part of the Ala Moana Beach Park.
Hawaii with pride I have seen the annual parades in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney and home in Auckland, but the Honolulu Pride Parade has the most beautiful route in the world. Spy editor Ricardo Simich discovers the LGBTQI+ scene in Honolulu and makes an appearance at the Pride Parade.