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What is PrideFest and how do I take part?
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What is Denver PrideFest?
It's a celebration of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) pride, community, and culture that takes place in Denver's Civic Center Park on the last weekend in June.
Saturday is Family Field Day and the parade and main festival take place on Sunday.
What’s great about Denver’s PrideFest is that it’s one of the largest in the country – which makes sense when you take into consideration that Denver has the 7th largest LGBT population in the United States – this year the festival boasted over 250,000 attendees.
It’s also one of the most family-friendly PrideFest festivals around with a special family-oriented Family Field Day taking place on Saturday featuring lots of fun activities the whole family can enjoy.
On Sunday, the parade kicks off in Cheesman Park and proceeds down Colfax Avenue to Civic Center Park where PrideFest proper kicks into high gear with food, drinks, music, and entertainment that have earned it a reputation as one of the biggest and best celebrations in all of Colorado.
Everybody Loves a Parade
To check out the parade all you need to do is grab yourself a spot on Colfax Avenue somewhere between Cheesman Park and Civic Center Park and just sit back and enjoy the show. The biggest crowds are typically found along the intersections of Pearl and Colfax and Lincoln and Colfax but if you want to increase your chances of picking up some of the free Pride schwag that a lot of the floats toss out – stuff like beads, candy, coupons, keychains - you might want to choose a spot with a little less population density. The parade kicks off from Cheesman Park at 9:30 a.m. sharp. My best advice is to wear something flashy and bring plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated.
Participating in the Parade
If you’re interested in actually marching in the parade yourself – an experience I highly recommend – there are plenty of groups and organizations that would be happy to welcome you into their ranks.
Give The Center a call at 303-733-7743 to see who else is looking for marchers or put together your own parade entry.
Volunteer for PrideFest
If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact my good friend Rahn Anderson. You can email him at randerson2@glbtcolorado.org or give him a call at 303-733-7743 x109
Sponsorship
Another way to get involved with Denver PrideFest is through sponsorship. The LGBT community is typically very loyal to gay-friendly companies and studies show that 83% have incomes above the national average. Remember how I said that Denver’s ranks 7th in the nation for percentage of gay and lesbian households? That’s a lot of possible customers. According to The Center, in 2006 alone, Hewlett Packard estimated a 34 million dollar return on Pride sponsorships nationwide.
For more information about becoming a PrideFest sponsor, contact my friend and former co-worker Debra Pollock at The Centerat 303-733-7743 x104 or via email at dpollock@glbtcolorado.org.
PrideFest Celebrities/Entertainers
PrideFest always brings a cavalcade of stars to town. Past headliners have included Tiffany, Martha Wash, Sophie B. Hawkins, Debbie Gibson an hunkalicious adult star Matthew Rush.
PrideFest: Lots to Love
There’s a lot to love about PrideFest, everything from the sights and sounds to the sometimes scantily clad men and women, but the thing I’ve always loved most about it is the solidarity - the LGBT community turns up and turns out from near and far to support one another.
But everybody has their own opinions and here’s what some other Denverites have to say about their favorite things about PrideFest:
Cute boys!
Justin from Mo's
The kinds of parties that leave you with a weeklong hangover!
Angela
All the gays!
Billy
My favorite thing about Pride is that it’s free and showcases our amazing local talent!
Dancing at the Compound afterwards.
Sue Anne Michaels
The diversity. I mean, I think that if we could carry what PrideFest is all about with us in our hearts as a community all 365 days of the year we would move forward in huge strides.
The parade. It’s just fun to see all of the people lining the street cheering and having fun.
James Roy
What hits me every time is how important this event is to the community. We have people driving in from nearby states as well as flying in from across the country. It’s great!
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