PrideFest is an annual

Gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to ...

event held each June in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, honoring the culture and heritage of the lesbian,

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 a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

community in the State of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. The first Denver PrideFest occurred in 1976, the same year the local

community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, 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

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 ...

, 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 local ...

. 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 march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

in the United States.GLBT Colorado PrideFest: About
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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 ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

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

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 three ...

in Denver's

gay village A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-orien ...

, 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 serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

(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. Early life and career The Webb fam ...

* Radio DJ Jamie White (non-local) * Radio DJ's "Larry Ulibarri, Kendall and Kathy" from KS107.5 * Denver City Council members *

Tiffany Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...

, American singer * Denver Gay Men's Chorus * Dear Marsha * Tracy Edwards * Daniel Lucio * RoyalRush Dance Troupe * Nicole Torres and the Affiliates

References

External links

PrideFest
GLBT Colorado Center LGBT events in Colorado Festivals in Delaware Tourist attractions in Denver Recurring events established in 1976 Pride parades in the United States {{LGBT-event-stub