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This weekend kicks off Pride Month in Philadelphia. It’s full of queer events, from Pride story time at the library to a protest in the streets — and of course, the biggest one: the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival.
Here are all the details.
When and where
- The march starts at Sixth and Walnut streets at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 2, and ends in the Gayborhood.
- The festival runs from 12–7 p.m. Sunday, June 2, in a roughly six-block area of the Gayborhood from Walnut to Pine streets and Quince to Juniper streets.
This year’s theme: ‘Be you’
This year’s Pride March and Festival will be hosted by Galaei, a social justice organization serving queer and trans BIPOC communities.
Sunday morning’s Pride march is meant as a callback to gay rights demonstrations in the 1960s at Independence Hall and the city’s first gay pride march in 1972. It’ll feature music, speeches from community leaders and a Lenape land acknowledgment.
The afternoon’s festival is a space for happiness to celebrate “how far we’ve come, claiming and reclaiming community spaces,” organizers say.
The festival will feature a number of different spaces, including Bailar Con Amor, an area celebrating Latinx and Afro-Latinx art and expression; Kiki Alley, which will highlight the culture and history of Philly’s ballroom community; a sober space with a dry bar and DJs; a youth and family zone with kid-focused programming; a wellness zone with on-site testing and housing resources; and an accessible, low-sensory “decompression zone” co-hosted with Disability Pride PA that will feature quiet music, seating, a wheelchair charging area and a cooling station.
The festival will also include local artists and vendors, food trucks and multiple outdoor stages with live performances.