BOSTON — Adult industry pioneer Kim Airs, has been nominated to serve as grand marshal of the 2019 Boston Pride Parade, to be held Saturday, June 8.
Airs is nominated for her founding of New England’s first women- and LGBT-friendly sexuality boutique, Grand Opening!, which she opened in 1993.
“I left my high-ranking job at Harvard in order to provide a comfortable place for people to purchase items to enhance their sexuality and sexual wellness,” Airs said. “Remember, this was before the internet and prior to opening Grand Opening!, and there was no welcoming retail store anywhere in New England. I am proud to be recognized for my groundbreaking store which changed the sexual attitudes of stodgy New England and would love to be the grand marshal for Boston Pride.”
Grand Opening!’s brick-and-mortar location was open from 1993 to 2005 and remains on the web at GrandOpening.com.
Online voting for Airs as grand marshal is open to all and continues through Thursday, Jan. 31. Votes can be cast at BostonPride.org/marshal/.