The outrageously fun Denver PrideFest returns this weekend with citywide parties at bars and clubs, a 5k race, a 100,000-strong parade, and dozens more things to do at Civic Center’s main event.
Here’s what to know for 2024. Visit denverpride.org and denverpost.com/things-to-do for more Pride Month activities through June 30.
More than 500,000 total attendees are expected to visit Civic Center park for the annual Denver PrideFest, which runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 23. Entry is free. There will be more than 250 exhibitors and nonprofit wellness booths, 30 food vendors, packed stages, and choice people-watching at the all-ages event. Also this year: an 18-and-up sober area serving non-alcoholic beverages for those choosing sobriety, producers said.
Free PrideFest shows this year are spread across the Center Stage, a Latin stage, a dance-focused stage with local and national DJs, and a family area with kids’ activities. Highlights include Center Stage shows from drag luminaries and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” vets Pattie Gonia, Alyssa Edwards, Shea Couleé, and Mirage. There will also be comedy sets, singalongs, and speeches highlighting the ongoing social and political challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people.
Caryn Tomlin sprays bubbles at the crowd as she takes part in Denver Pride Parade on June 25, 2023 in Denver.
This year’s theme, “50 Years of Pride,” celebrates Denver Pride’s first showing in 1974, as well as the evolution of an event that continually adds new features. For instance, 2024 will see the first Gayborhood Market, a partnership with Rainbow Market Denver that will showcase roughly 100 queer small-businesses, entrepreneurs, craft-makers, and artisans. It’s free and takes place during festival hours at Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park, just across the street from Civic Center.
The Denver Pride 5K returns with a “run, walk, roll or sashay” mission for its 3,000 or so participants. The fundraiser for the nonprofit Center on Colfax steps off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Colorado State Capitol Building, on Lincoln Street between East Colfax Avenue and 14th Avenue. The route points east on 14th Avenue to Cheesman Park, where it finishes. Kids under 5 can run for free; general registration is $35-$40 at denverpride.org/5k.
The Coors Light Denver Pride Parade runs 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, spanning 14 blocks from Cheesman Park (where it starts) to Civic Center park. Get ready for floats, marchers and live music in what’s billed as the third-largest Pride parade in the U.S., with 100,000 attendees. Accessible seating will be available next to the State Capitol along East Colfax Avenue, between Sherman and Grant streets, organizers said.
Streets will begin closing around Civic Center Park on Friday, June 21, and reopen at midnight on Sunday, June 23. Bannock Street will be closed from Colfax through 13th Avenue, with 14th Avenue closing from Cherokee Street to Broadway, both starting at 7 a.m. June 21. Colfax will be closed in both directions from Lincoln Street to Cherokee Street starting at 6 p.m., and Broadway will close rom the 16th Street Mall to 13th Avenue at 7 p.m. Download The Out List app at denverpride.org/theoutlist for a detailed map and other street-closure information.
Don’t forget to slather yourself in sunscreen and drink plenty of water as you wander the events. PrideFest will have free water fountains inside the park at Colfax and Bannock, as well as 14th and Broadway. If you cycle, be sure to find a safe spot to lock up your bike, as no bicycles (or unicycles they make a point to mention) are allowed inside the park. And, as ever, no pets.