Denver PrideFest Raises More Than $500,000 for LGBTQ Programs

While many Pride celebrations struggled to adapt to virtual formats this year, Denver’s Hybrid PrideFest flourished, raising more than $500,000 for LGBTQ programs and community outreach.

The festival organized by The Center on Colfax from June 26-27 was an all-out Pride bash, combining digital events with in person hubs for people to gather and party while still offering COVID-safe options. More than 50,000 people turned out for the activities on both virtual platforms and IRL.

The Center on Colfax, the Jewish Community Center, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and the newly opened McGregor Square were just a few of the hubs where more than 22,000 people gathered to celebrate Pride face-to-face. The biggest Pride event, the parade, was moved to an online format but still garnered 31,000 viewers.

“We are so thrilled that our community embraced different ways to celebrate PrideFest this year and continued its generous support of our programs and services. We are grateful to all of our donors and look forward to getting back to a fully in-person event in 2022,” said The Center’s CEO Rex Fuller.

The Denver PrideFest is traditionally one of The Center’s largest fundraisers every year, and 2021 did not disappoint. The $500,000 raised by the hybrid events will help the organization serve more than 50,000 people annually with programs for LGBTQ youth, seniors, Colorado’s transgender community, and training and legal programs.

On Wednesday, July 7, The Center began offering in-person events and drop-ins at their location at 1301 E. Colfax Ave. They will once again be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday for Denver’s LGBTQ community. The SAGE of the Rockies and Transgender programs will continue to transition back to in-person programming but will also maintain virtual options for many of the weekly offerings. Rainbow Alley programming will continue to operate virtually for the time being to allow time for our youth participants to be fully vaccinated, but Summer Academy, a career exploration program for youth ages 12 to 21, will be returning later this summer, from Aug. 2-6. Visit their website to see a full list of programs and information!

A huge thank you goes out to all the people that turned out to the Hybrid PrideFest. Whether it was in person or online; your participation and donations go a long way. See you all there again next year!