Summer of Pride:Pride Festivals Around the Country

Benji Lovari takes a look at some of the Pride Festivals happening this Summer in cities around the country.

There are Pride festivals, parades, and other activities happening in over 146 U.S. cities during June, July, August, and September. Of those four months, June is by far the most eventful with over 86 Pride events. It’s a summer filled with pride, and this month we’ll take a closer look at just a handful of these events. For a comprehensive calendar of pride events across the country, visit Gay Pride Calendar.

L.A. Pride Festival and #Resist March
West Hollywood, CA. — June 10-11
Now in its 47th year, this year’s L.A. Pride Festival happens on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11 and will include an impressive lineup of live music, dancing, food, and more. This year’s festival will be more intimate due to construction at West Hollywood Park, but the excitement level is expected to be just as high as ever. Instead of the traditional pride parade, this year there will be a #Resist March held on Sunday, June 11th. Christopher Street West will lead a human rights march that starts in Hollywood (where CSW organized the world’s first permitted gay rights march in 1970) and ends in West Hollywood. This is a free event being held in solidarity with the National Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, DC on the same day.

The performers announced for this year’s festival include Brandy, Chromeo, Young M.A., Erika Jayne, Aaron Carter, Brooke Candy, ILOVEMAKONNEN, Spencer Ludwig, Tish Hyman, Leon Else, Connell Cruise, Kat Dahlia, and Jesse Montana. To get in the spirit for this year’s festival, be sure to check out the cool L.A. Pride 2017 sizzle video.

For more info about the #Resist March, visit the #Resist March website. You can order L.A. Pride Festival tickets now and pay the discounted price of $25 for a single day pass or $35 for an all-weekend pass. You can buy tickets at the gate, too, but they will cost a little bit more.

Orange County “As One” Pride Parade & Festival
Orange County, CA. — June 24
“As One” is the theme of OC Pride, with a large festival and parade in Santa Ana, CA. that includes an impressive talent lineup – plus dance parties and other events happening all over Orange Country. This year’s entertainment lineup is being headlined by Lee Dagger of Bimbo Jones. There are two types of tickets – General Admission and All Access. General admission gives you access to the As One main stage and Festival Entertainment Venues (including access to the Leather Demo Tent and Artists Gathering as well as one free turn on the life-sized Connect Four, Checkers, or Dunk Tank challenges.) An All Access Pass also gives you access to the As One Closing Party at The Yost, which will carry on into the wee hours of the night. In addition, three levels of VIP wristbands are also available. You can spend as little as $10 for general admission or as much as $95 for the Rainbow VIP Wristband, which is the highest VIP level. The VIP tickets give you access to a private lounge, a VIP bar, some free booze, a meet-and-greet with the Main Stage talent, and other perks. You can read more detailed information about the entertainment lineup and purchase tickets at the OC Pride website.

West Street Beach Pride Festival
Laguna Beach, CA. — Aug. 6
Promotor Frankie Ciccone is at the helm of this year’s West Street Pride Festival in Laguna Beach, CA. Hosted by the beautiful West Street Beach, it should be a day filled with fun, sun, and beautiful folks of all persuasions celebrating diversity as they people watch, make new friends, play in the waves, catch some sun, dance, picnic, and enjoy other fun activities. 

P-Town Carnival Week
Provincetown, MA. — Aug. 12-19
Provincetown Carnival is one of the largest outdoor celebrations in Massachusetts and was named Best Festival on Cape Cod in 2013. Carnival attracts around 90,000 revelers from all walks of life each year for a celebration of our diversity – and to celebrate the place that the U.S. Census Bureau named as the gayest city in America. The Carnival Parade happens on Aug. 17th. One of this year’s big events is a pool party called Poseidon’s Playground which happens on Monday Aug. 14th from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is being held as a benefit for the Provincetown Business Guild. Tickets are available for this event at PTownPoolParty.com. The party’s host is porn star Trenton Ducati and the music will be provided by DJ Andy Morris.

3rd Annual Rehoboth Beach Bears Weekend
Rehoboth Beach, DE. — Sept 21-24
Although this event isn’t officially a pride festival, it definitely celebrates both gay pride and gay bear community pride. The Rehoboth Beach Bears Weekend brings together hundreds of gay bears and admirers from around the country for a fun-filled weekend of bear-themed events benefiting charities such as CAMP Rehoboth, the local LGBT community center. Registrations for the 2017 Beach Bear Weekend are now open. It looks set to be another amazing weekend of brunches, dance parties, seminars, live shows, and other events. The coastal town of Rehoboth Beach is an LGBT-friendly vacation destination frequented by many of the LGBT residents of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington DC, New York and beyond. The city has an active bear community and there are year-round events, in addition to the big weekend. 

DTLA Proud Festival
Los Angeles, CA. — Aug. 26-27
First held in 2016, this new pride festival is held at Pershing Square in Downtown L.A. and is dedicated to celebrating everyone’s story, spreading optimism, growing our community, and continually expanding our definition of diversity. Last year’s inaugural event included twelve parties, five entertainment venues, DJ sets by eleven popular DJ’s, and live performances by dozens of amazing acts  such as Cazwell, Jackie Beat, Pandora Boxx, Barbie Q, and Calpernia Addams. Approximately 10,000 people were in attendance at last year’s festival and this year’s event is expected to draw an even larger crowd thanks to last year’s success.