St. Louis is blessed with no shortage of Pride celebrations — seven in total. While St. Charles Pride and Soulard Pride have already passed by press date (mark your calendars for next year), there’s plenty of festivities still to come.
PrideFest
June 29 to 30
Every year Pride St. Louis’ celebration takes over downtown St. Louis near Soldier’s Memorial. This year’s PrideFest has the theme of “Unleash Your Pride” and as usual includes entertainment, vendors and a parade, which steps off on Market and 10th streets at noon on June 30.
Entertainment includes both national and local acts. The Saturday national acts include Slayyter, who hails from the St. Louis suburbs; and synth-pop innovator DAYA. Sunday will see “Queen of House Music” Crystal Waters and Broadway, MTV and more multihyphenate Todrick Hall. There will also be local DJs — Tilda, Umami, JoJo, Rico Steele, DJ Taber, JoJo and Rico Steele — spinning in the Red Bull Dance Pavilion. Keep your eye on pridestl.org for the festival map as well as the local musicians involved.
Black Pride
August 15 to 18
St. Louis Black Pride always includes a weekend full of events at multiple locations. This year won’t disappoint. Things kick off with a comedy showcase on August 15 and continue on the 16th with a unity walk. The following day will be filled with an expo featuring local businesses and restaurants. Finally, things end on August 18 with a brunch. See blackpridestl.org for details.
Alton Pride Festival
September 14
Alton is a relative newcomer to the scene — Nicci Kincer and Michael Paynic held the inaugural festival in 2020. Since then, the organization has taken over downtown Alton with a colorful celebration, entertainment and rows of vendor and organization tents. More at altonpride.com.
Tower Grove Pride
September 28 and 29
Pride doesn’t end in June in St. Louis, with celebrations like Tower Grove Pride extending to the fall and winter. Every September, Tower Grove Park fills with a parade, booths, entertainment and more. But you don’t need to wait that long this year. The organization is also hosting a Pride Pop Up at City Foundry (address) beginning at noon on June 22. The event will include Drag Story Time with a Summer Pride theme featuring Sarah Shay, Roxie M. Valentine, Misty Terrain and many more. See towergrovepride.com for details.
Metro East Pride
October 5
This year, our neighbors to the east will light up Belleville, Illinois, with the 16th annual Metro East Pride Fest from noon to 10 p.m. on October 5. The event includes more than 100 vendors of food and goods and entertainment on West Main Street and the Public Square. Past celebrations have included marches, 5ks, music, spirit awards and more. Keep your eye on metroeastpride.org for details closer to the event.
