From Colorado’s GLBT Community Center: Bringing hundreds of thousands together at Pride

By Amy Drayer

This June, more than 325,000 LGBT community members and allies from Denver, the surrounding states and across the nation will join together to celebrate and show our pride. We are now one of the largest events in Colorado, and one of the largest pride festivals in the country. The power of our collective voice and the power we have when we gather to show our pride in ourselves, each other, and our community is undeniable. We are no longer a small minority marching to be seen and heard; we are vibrant, diverse, loud, proud, and impossible to ignore. Pride is the place we come to network, to reconnect, to learn about community resources, to find strength in the collective, and of course to celebrate. Together we are able to win great victories worth celebrating, as we learned this spring with the passage of civil unions.

However with growth there are always growing pains; as one of the largest events in Civic Center we are now subject to increased regulation to obtain our permits for the park and for the right to serve alcohol. The City and County of Denver has asked us to regulate our festival in the same way as other events in the park, including entry gates and strict regulation of alcohol leaving and entering the premises. We will still permit packs, coolers, etc to enter the park, but are not able to allow any outside beverages. Only factory-sealed containers will be allowed. For more information about these changes please visit denverpridefest.org.

The Center works with the PrideFest volunteer committee year–round to bring you the best event possible; we remain one of the few major pride festivals in the country that is free to enter. We collaborate with businesses, artists, volunteers, and other non-profits to leverage all the resources possible to keep our festival accessible to our entire community. This year we’re excited to announce a partnership with Spree Racing to bring you the Big Gay Family 5K on Saturday morning. With this addition, and the additions in past years of the Orgulllo Latino celebration, the Dyke March, Elitch Gay Day, Youth Alley and the Family Interactive Area, all managed by volunteers, we believe we are the best PrideFest in the country. We hope that you’re proud of it too and will continue to enjoy it in the spirit of community pride.

Amy Drayer is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at The GLBT Community Center of Colorado. Online at GLBTColorado.org.