Saturday was the Gay Pride Parade.
If you dislike frat-parties, over-zealous celebrations, and the bacchanalia that can take over a populace, this will be your third least favorite day in Amsterdam.
New Year's Eve is the worst.
Not only is it outdoor party time, the Dutch go Fourth of July mad with firecrackers and personal pyrotechnics which turn the city into a war zone. Thus you get all that’s bad about New Year’s Eve, plus all that is bad about everyone partying everywhere PLUS the straight-up fear you will have an appendage blown off or an eye shot out. Terrible all around. The only redeeming feature is how an old city built of brick and on top of water (and well known for tolerance) indulges itself as fireproof. Wanna ignite an army’s worth of explosives next to an architectural treasure from the 17th century? Go for it.
King’s Day comes in second. A way to greet the sun in late April, the best part is that you can sell anything you want with no tax or commerce rules and this leads to some parts of the city becoming a flea markets. But the frat party element is even worse than on New Year's Eve. Everyone is out everywhere and everyone wears the national color as they get drunk. The whole day is just a great big giant orange orgasm.
That leaves Gay Pride day. Confined to one of the canals, you can more or less avoid it if you wish. That’s good, as is that your right-wing heterosexual dude, the guy who would be beating gay people up in the states, will get ginned up in a dress here and join the fun.
The parade itself is about as up with people thrilling as most parades, even if it takes place on water. Barges putter along the Prinsengracht as hired dancers and model types do some sort of iffy performance to “Dancing Queen” or “It's Raining Men.” But at least the city shows up and parties for gaydom.
Of late, though, since each barge comes with a corporate sponsor, many people are complaining that the parade has become too much of an opportunity for the moneyed class to buy goodwill. Cool. I am definitely up for greater authenticity and a more homespun feel on silly day number three.
And if such concerns demonstrate a normalcy that signals we need no longer worry about who loves whom and can just get back to making life tough for the bankers, all the better.