Tom House Presents Hamptons Pride Parade 2023, Now an Annual Tradition

Following a massively successful inaugural year, the Hamptons Pride Parade returns to East Hampton on Saturday, June 3, and Tom House of Hamptons Pride Inc. has been working tirelessly to produce a memorable follow-up.

With a name like “Hamptons Pride Inc.” many would likely assume that the not-for-profit public charity was founded to fund the annual Hamptons Pride Parade, but that wasn’t the original goal. House created the organization to drum up support for a social area and historical marker at the former location of The Swamp, the Hamptons’ longest-running gay bar, at which he had tended bar for 20 years before the area’s last gay-dedicated nightspot shut its doors.

The idea for a Hamptons Pride Parade came later from the Village of East Hampton, with Mayor Jerry Larsen giving House this exciting new addition to his fundraising and planning efforts. According to House, that first Hamptons Pride Parade had more attendees than anyone anticipated and was likely the second largest parade in East Hampton history, right after the village’s centennial parade in 2021.

“It was just so deeply appreciated, and it seemed like it was so deeply needed. It was very obvious,” House shares. “I’ve never had more instant gratification — just seeing the effect that it had on people, how important it was, how moved people were.”

Unlike other parades, all participants were able to register for free, because House feels that no one who would like to participate should be “blocked out by a registration fee.”

This year’s parade participants range from East End arts organizations such as Guild Hall, LongHouse Reserve, Bay Street Theater, Parrish Art Museum, The Church in Sag Harbor, Our Fabulous Variety Show and the Arts Center at Duck Creek to religious organizations like the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton and Tempel Adas Israel.

The schools of East Hampton, Springs, Riverhead, Hampton Bays and the Hayground School are also among the many registered parade units, as are Amber Waves Farm, OLA of Eastern Long Island, Southampton Animal Shelter, ARF of the Hamptons and the East Hampton Fire Department.

At the time of writing, the growing lineup of marchers was shaping up to surpass the size of the 2022 parade, and House envisions continued growth as word continues to spread each year. “We want to reach more and more people in the community, get more community support, more people taking part in it, more awareness,” he says. “It’s increased a lot … it can still increase more.”

House hopes to not only continue increasing the number of participants, but also the diversity of the represented population. One step he’s taken toward this goal is collaborating with OLA to produce parade registration flyers in Spanish, and he’s looking for other ways to encourage participation from people of color. He also notes that while the Democratic committees of Southampton Town and East Hampton are registered in this year’s parade, he’d also love to see area Republicans take part in the future.

“All are welcome who are LGBTQ+ and allies, and hopefully one day that will mean everyone,” he says.

The volunteer-run parade is both family-friendly and environmentally-friendly, so no alcohol is permitted at the event nor balloons allowed in the parade. What will be present are colorful floats, marchers, bands and vehicles waving Pride flags of every sort. And the East Hampton Village Police Department will be on hand to keep things moving smoothly. “The village is very invested in making sure that this goes really well again,” House says.

The parade lineup starts at 11 a.m. on Main Street and kicks off at noon, marching east on Main toward Newtown Lane, Railroad Avenue and Lumber Lane before concluding at Herrick Park. There, a celebration will take place until 3 p.m. with music provided by DJ Karin Ward, a greeting from the Bridgehampton Marimba Band, sponsor tables for Stony Brook’s Edie Windsor Healthcare Center and others, food and speeches by House and Mayor Larsen.

While making sure the first Hamptons Pride Parade went on without a hitch meant forfeiting his opportunity to march in it, House is determined not to miss his second chance despite much more extreme circumstances. The last leg of the planning stage has been managed from his brother’s bedside at a hospital in Columbia following a near-fatal mugging in May. After a week of intensive care and physical therapy, John was approved to fly home. “I have hope and intention of getting back for the parade,” House says with replenished faith in his brother’s recovery.

Hopefully, we’ll see him there.

For more information about Hamptons Pride, including the fundraiser at the LongHouse Reserve on June 25, visit hamptonspride.org.