PrideFest is an annual

gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...

event held each June in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, honoring the culture and heritage of the

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

community in the State of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. The first "Pride" event in Denver, known as ''Gay Pride Week'', took place June, 1974 and included a "gay-in" in

Cheesman Park Cheesman Park is an urban park and neighborhood located in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States. Geography Cheesman Park is located in central Denver, southeast of downtown. The Park has inexact borders, as it is framed on thr ...

attended by about fifty people. The first ''Gay Pride Parade'' took place in 1975 with approximately 200 people marching along sidewalks to the

Civic Center Park The Denver Civic Center is a civic center area that includes two parks surrounded by government and cultural buildings and spaces. Civic Center is located in central Denver, Colorado, on the south side of Downtown Denver. Much of the area is a ...

unaware that they needed a permit. The first event resembling the present day Denver PrideFest occurred in 1976, the same year the local

community center A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

, now known as the Center on Colfax, was founded. The Center organizes and produces the festival and parade each year. The event currently consists of a two-day festival at

, the Pride 5K, and culminates with a parade along

Colfax Avenue Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the loca ...

. Denver PrideFest now draws 525,000 guests annually, making it the third largest pride festival and seventh largest

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

in the United States.GLBT Colorado PrideFest: About
/ref>

Overview

PrideFest generally occurs the third weekend of June. Celebrations at local establishments begin the week of PrideFest, with a conclusion of the entire celebration the following Sunday. A stretch of

is closed for the Sunday parade, from Franklin Street west to Broadway. After the parade, the roads surrounding Civic Center Park (Broadway, the "Colfax Curve", Bannock, and 14th Avenue Parkway) remain closed during the rally and street fair. Vendors sell a variety of products such as homemade jewelry, stained glass, apparel, food, and services. Several companies and organizations also rent booths to show their support for Denver's and Colorado's

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community. Local and nationally recognized performers offer entertainment at multiple stages during the event. The festival comes to a close in the early evening. Roads are reopened about an hour after cleanup.

The Parade

The PrideFest parade generally begins at 9:30am. Floats are built by various companies and organizations that support LGBT rights. The parade staging location is at

in Denver's

gay village A gay village, also known as a gayborhood or gaybourhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay vil ...

, the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The parade goes north two blocks to Colfax Avenue, then west toward downtown for about a mile, ending at Civic Center Park at Broadway and Colfax.

Attendees and Constituents

Denver's PrideFest has historically been host to many media and political agents who support the

community. Some notable past attendees: * Former Colorado Governor and Denver Mayor

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. ( ; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, geologist, and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A mem ...

(Hickenlooper also officially endorses the Festival, and marches every year). * Former Denver Mayor

Wellington Webb Wellington E. Webb (born February 17, 1941) is an American politician. He served in the Colorado House of Representatives and was the first African American mayor of Denver, Colorado, serving from 1991 to 2003. He served as a Democrat. Early li ...

* Radio DJ Jamie White (non-local) * Radio DJ's "Larry Ulibarri, Kendall and Kathy" from KS107.5 * Denver City Council members * Tiffany, American singer * Denver Gay Men's Chorus * Dear Marsha * Tracy Edwards * Daniel Lucio * RoyalRush Dance Troupe * Nicole Torres and the Affiliates * Mile High Freedom Band

References

External links

PrideFest
GLBT Colorado Center
PrideFest: A History of Denver’s Gay Pride Celebration
History Colorado LGBTQ events in Colorado Festivals in Delaware Tourist attractions in Denver Recurring events established in 1976 Pride parades in the United States LGBTQ culture in Denver 1976 establishments in Colorado {{LGBT-event-stub