Where to Celebrate Pride in the US This June
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It’s already spring, which means summer is just around the corner. Not only does summer mean beach vacations and hot weather, but it also means celebrating Pride. The Stonewall Uprising began on June 28, 1969, in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. Queer people fought back against the police, and the subsequent uprising lasted for six days. One year later, thousands marched from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in what we now know was the first Pride parade in the United States.
Today, June is known as Pride Month—to honor those who came before us, to continue fighting for our rights, and to celebrate love in all forms. As a queer traveler, I love to plan my trips around Pride events all over the world. This summer, I hope to attend various celebrations throughout Europe, but I will certainly miss the fun of celebrating in major cities throughout the country. Here are the top Pride parades to enjoy in the US.
Boston Pride Parade - The Boston Pride Parade in the South End neighborhood of Boston, MA on June 14, 2014 (Photo by Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images)
Boston
Boston Pride for the People Festival and Parade will happen on June 8 this year. Boston Pride is the largest in New England, hosting more than 1 million people in 2023. The parade kicks off in Copley Square at 11 a.m. and finishes at Boston Common, where the festival will be held. City Hall Plaza will also host a block party for visitors who are 21 years old and up. All events are free to attend, which makes it accessible to anyone in the area wanting to celebrate.
Columbus
The Stonewall Columbus Pride 2024 will be the weekend of June 14, with the theme Live Out Loud. What started as just 200 people in 1982 has ballooned into more than 700,000 people, making it a massive gathering for queer people and allies in Ohio and surrounding areas. This year, you can enjoy a Pride Festival, a resource fair, and a Pride March. At the festival, you’ll find over 200 vendors, performances, a community wellness area, and many other resources. The march will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Broad Street and High Street in Columbus.
TOPSHOT-US-PRIDE-PARADE-LGBTQ-RIGHTS
Chicago
The 53rd Annual Chicago Pride Parade will be on June 30. The theme is Pride is Power, and organizers chose this theme in response to anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the past year. More than one million people are expected to attend the parade, which starts in Uptown and ends in Lincoln Park.
You can attend the Chicago Pride Fest in Boystown the weekend before the parade. There, you’ll find three music stages, over 100 arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, drag shows, and more. There’s also Pride in the Park, an outdoor LGBTQ+ music festival. The lineup for 2024 hasn’t been announced, but in previous years, we have seen Betty Who, Saweetie, and Chaka Khan, to name a few.
Denver
You can attend the 50th anniversary of Denver Pride on June 22 and June 23. More than 550,000 people participated in the festival in 2023, so you can expect just as many people to return to Colorado to celebrate love this year. On Saturday, you can participate in the Pride 5K. If running isn’t your thing, you can watch the Coors Light PrideFest Parade on Sunday.
Throughout the weekend, find hundreds of exhibitors, vendors, and performers in Civic Center Park. There will even be a Gayborhood Market to support locally-owned LGBTQ+ small businesses in Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park.
Los Angeles Holds Annual Pride Parade
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Pride will be hosted on June 8 and 9, featuring everything from a music festival to a classic parade. Last year, the LA Pride in the Park music festival had Megan Thee Stallion and Mariah Carey as headliners, so we can only hope for other icons this time around. The 54th Annual LA Pride Parade will be on June 9, following the theme Power in Pride. Adjacent to the parade on Hollywood Boulevard, you can enjoy a block party with performances, pop-up bars, vendors, and more.
If you’re still in Los Angeles on June 15, you can enjoy an exclusive after-hours visit to Universal Studios for the Pride is Universal celebration. Although LA might not be as famous for pride as nearby San Francisco, it will undoubtedly be a memorable weekend.
New Orleans
New Orleans Pride, hosted June 7 through June 9, is sure to be as colorful as New Orleans itself. Pride month starts with a Pride Gala on June 1, where you can dress in your most formal rainbow gear and get to know fellow community members. On June 7, there is a Black Queer Legacy Summit to have insightful discussions and workshops celebrating the legacy of the Black Queer community.
On June 8, you can attend the PrideFest, Black Queer Community Fest, and the Pride Parade. The parade will be after PrideFest and loop through the French Quarter, ending on Bourbon Street between St. Ann and Dumaine.
Scenes from the Seattle Pride Parade, Sunday, June 25, 2017. (Genna Martin, seattlepi.com)
New York City
It doesn’t get much more iconic than New York Pride, which is always hosted on the last weekend in June to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising. The march and PrideFest will be on June 30th, while Youth Pride is hosted on June 29. If you’ve been lucky enough to attend Pride in New York, you know there is an unbeatable energy in the air. The events throughout the city are electric and highly welcoming. The 2024 theme is “Reflect. Empower. Unite.” This theme comes at a critical time, given the difficulties the members of our community continue to face each day.
San Francisco
San Francisco Pride will also be on the last weekend of June, so if you're traveling to celebrate, you must choose between the East and West Coast. The theme this year is Beacon of Love, and the hope is that we unite to be unapologetically Queer, as we fight to retain our legal rights. There are many events throughout the weekend, from the parade and Civic Center Celebration to a Human Rights Summit and golf tournament. There’s truly something for everyone to be involved in throughout the weekend, no matter what your interests are.
Seattle
Finally, Seattle Pride will be the last weekend of June and will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary. If you can’t attend the parade, you can visit Seattle for Pride in the Park, which will be on June 1. It’s free to the public and includes performances, family-friendly, and adults-only spaces. The theme is “Now! Now is the moment. Now is our legacy. Now is forever.” The parade on June 30 will be in downtown Seattle and will feature more than 250 vendors.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
