Denver PrideFest to Feature Virtual and In-Person Events
This year, Denver PrideFest will look a bit different than previous years, mixing in-person and virtual activities to create a hybrid event. The celebration, hosted by The Center on Colfax, will take place June 26-27 and was planned to ensure the safety of all participants.
As more people get vaccinated, gatherings are slowly becoming safe again, but large-scale gatherings can still pose a risk.
“We believe it’s crucial to provide the community with a range of options to safely connect and celebrate PrideFest this year. While some people might feel comfortable interacting in small gatherings, others may feel safer staying at home. We hope our hybrid approach offers something for everyone,” says The Center’s CEO Rex Fuller.
Acknowledging the desire for in-person events this year, PrideFest will include a series of “Pride hubs” that will be hosted by various venues across the city. Rather than one large event in Civic Center Park, these hubs will provide participants with smaller, safer gatherings to celebrate pride with the community, with each hub following COVID-19 guidelines. Events will include a family friendly hub including story time and kid-centric booths featuring outdoor music at the Denver Nature and Science Museum; The Center on Colfax will host an outdoor event featuring food trucks, a DJ and rooftop entertainment, and The Sie Film Center will host a movie event. Some of these events will have capacity limits as well as ticket requirements to ensure the safety of participants.
Denver PrideFest will also feature an in-person, 5k run on Saturday June 26 in Cheesman park. Runners will choose one of two times to start the run to maintain social distancing. A virtual version of the run will be available, too, for those who would rather complete the race using their own route. Runners can sign up for both the virtual and in-person event by visiting the Denver Pride website.
Pride will also feature multiple, online events for those who can’t make it or would prefer to stay at home. These include a virtual parade, a virtual marketplace, and a virtual pride parade. The Pride Parade will feature a compilation of family-friendly video produced by local businesses that will be broadcast starting at 9:30 a.m. on June 27 on Denver7’s and The Center’s social media channels.
Denver PrideFest is The Center on Colfax’s biggest fundraiser, typically bringing in more than $1 million dollars to the organization to help support Colorado’s LGBTQ community.
“Pride has always been bigger than a festival in Civic Center Park on a hot weekend in June. It has always been about the chance to celebrate our past achievements, stand-up against our present obstacles, and to unite as a community. After a year of isolation and grief, we will Unite with Pride in June and show the Rocky Mountain region that the LGBTQ+ community is stronger than it has ever been before.” Fuller said.
Image Courtesy of The Center on Colfax
