The best Pride parades and festivals in the U.S. to celebrate LGBTQ rights

LA Pride is always a star-studded affair, and this year is no different. Festivities start June 8 with Pride in the Park, a musical artist-packed event, with Ricky Martin headling this year—plus, over 20 acres of activities for attendees to explore. The Pride Parade takes place the next day along Hollywood Blvd in addition to an all-day block party with live performances, food trucks, beer gardens, and more fun. There’s a slew of other events, like an after-hours experience at Universal Studios on June 15. Baseball lovers can join the annual LGBTQ+ Night at Dodger Stadium on June 14. Plus, check out events in nearby Santa Monica.

Pride celebrations descend upon New York City throughout the month of June, including a Queens Night Market, Pride Nights at Yankees and Mets stadiums, and pub crawls through Brooklyn. The most anticipated events take place on June 30, including PrideFest, the annual Pride March and Bliss Days, a celebration of LGBTQIA+ womxn. 

Time to join in an exuberant street festival, the Chicago Pride Fest, which takes place this year June 22-23. The event features three stages, a 'Best of Chicago' drag performance, a pet parade, dance exhibitions, the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus, plus musical line-ups including JoJo Siwa, Natasha Bedingfield, and Kaleena Zanders. It’s a blast with 60,000 of your closest friends (some you haven’t met yet), in honoring LGBTQ+ life, culture and community. Then, wait a week for the annual Chicago Pride Parade on June 30. The parade began as a protest march in 1970 after New York’s Stonewall Riots and today attracts more than a million people to watch and cheer. 

The Mile High City carves out a weekend in June for the Denver PrideFest when over 525,000 celebrants come out to play. This year, it's June 22-23. Run in the Pride 5K, which starts at the state capitol, and for sure, watch the Coors Light PrideFest Parade that is expected to bring 100,000 people together. At the Absolut Dance World, dance all weekend with an amazing schedule of DJs. Plus, peruse the booths of 250 exhibitors, visit 30 food and beverage vendors, and enjoy live performances.

Houston LGBT+ Pride Celebration Festival and Parade events are spread out throughout the month, such as the Pride Market on June 2—a Biergarten with food trucks, exhibitors, and performances—and the Rock the Runway on June 26, an annual fashion show with queer designers, models, DJs and more, held at Warehouse Midtown. Eden, an all-girl+ party, takes place June 28, while the Pride Parade happens June 29, attended by hundreds of thousands and headlined this year by K. Michelle, David Archuleta, Brooke Eden, and more. 

Miami got a jump on Pride festivities this year with Miami Beach Pride events happening in April, with a big parade at the end. Festivities return in June with Wynwood Pride (and you can find epic drag brunches year round). 

Provincetown, located at the tip of Cape Cod, has long been known as inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, so it's no surprise the town goes all out for Pride every year. This year, the annual Provincetown Pride events will take place from May 31 to June 2. The main event is on Saturday, but other activities are spread throughout the weekend, from the Famous Underwear Dance Party to a comedy showcase to Pride bingo. 

The city of San Francisco, as you'd expect and hope for, has a Pride event for nearly every day throughout June; just about every bar, nightclub, museum and art gallery has something planned. In light of being a crucial election year when LGBTQ+ rights are yet again under attack, this year’s theme is “Beacon of Love” to "reflect the undiminished spirit of our great city as a global leader in the fight for inclusion and equality." The main day, including the Pride Parade and Party at City Hall, takes place on June 30.

The Emerald City is not one to be left out. Seattle Pride Month is June, and its 50th annual Parade, held on Stonewall Sunday (June 30), is expected to draw 300,000 attendees. Also check out Pride in the Park on June 1, a completely free event showcasing LGBTQIA+ performances, a dance-focused stage, food trucks, and family spaces, including Drag Queen Storytime and a teen space.

The annual Boston Pride For the People Parade & Festival will take place this year on June 8. The parade starts in the morning at Copley Square, moves through the city’s South End, and finally ends at Boston Common, where festival goers can celebrate the rest of the day with live performances and food vendors. For those 21+, City Hall Plaza hosts a Block Party. With an anticipated 1 million attendees, this is one of the Northeast's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.

Austin’s Pride celebrations take place in August. The big parade is on August 10; more than 400,000 attended last year, so this year should be another big shindig. Performances have not yet been announced, but last year's parade started at the capitol, and the pride festivities included ample food and beverage options from more than 140 vendors.

June sees a host of Pride-related events throughout the steamy southern city of Atlanta, including the Pride Party on June 2. All proceeds from the event benefit "Pride Across the Peach State," Atlanta Pride's new effort to support Pride organizations across Georgia. Atlanta Pride is the largest Pride event in the Southeast and one of the oldest in the country—the first march occurred in 1971. The huge public party is anchored in Piedmont Park just northeast of downtown.

Hosted every year by the Capital Pride Alliance, the 2024 Capital Pride Events will be top-notch as always. Events are spread throughout the month, including a Night of Queer Expression on June 3 and a rooftop pool party on June 5. The big weekend is June 8 and 9. That Saturday will be the Capital Pride 17th Street Block Party in Dupont Circle, which brings together a dozen iconic restaurants for an all-day fun street fest, followed by the mainstay Pride Parade later that afternoon. The Capital Pride Festival and Concert is the following day, on Sunday, which takes place along Pennsylvania Avenue with three stages of live performances.

A later celebration in the month of October, Orlando hosts the Come Out with Pride festival (October 11 is National Coming Out Day), to be held this year on October 19. Just as in previous years, the celebrations will include a big parade and lots of live entertainment throughout the day. If you want to plan for next year, the Gay Prom is typically held in April, “an accepting space where each of us can be our authentic selves and bring the date, or dates, we perhaps couldn’t for our high school prom,” reads the website.

What’s better than Pride in June? Pride in June and October! River City Pride organizes multiple events in June, including a “paint and sip” night of painting rainbow-colored beach chairs on the sand, art tours, dance parties, drag brunch, and a pride night at a Jumbo Shrimp (AAA baseball) game. In October, the date of the official pride fest hasn't been announced yet, but October 1 kicks off Jacksonville River City Pride month, which features numerous events, including the Pride Festival & Cabaret and a 1.5-mile parade starting at Willow Branch Park, where the city’s LGBT Pride Picnic took place in 1978.

June is great for LGBTQ+ folks in the beautiful Puerto Rican town of San Juan: first, there’s Puerto Rico Pride 2024, which will take place on June 2, featuring floats, bands, and drag queens. Then there's Boquerón Pride (in Spanish, Orgullo Boquerón), which takes place June 9 in the beach town of Boquerón in Cabo Rojo. Lastly, there's the SJI Pride Festival taking place on June 15 with live entertainment, food vendors, activities, and an after-party with a DJ.

The Pride Bigger Than Texas Festival & Parade will be held on June 29. It will include live entertainment, a parade, food, a health fair, and, best of all, a mass Pride wedding where same-sex couples can be married in one large ceremony (you can get your marriage certificate up to 72 hours in advance—spontaneity rules!). Pets are welcome, but it will be hot; make sure to protect their paws and bring plenty of water. 

Join Central Coast Pride with festivities held May 31 and June 1 in SLO. On Friday, there’s an inaugural drag and burlesque show called BurlyDrag at the Fremont Theater, with a DJ spinning as you enter and snacks and four signature cocktails for sale. On Saturday, Pride in the Plaza takes place downtown on Mission Plaza, and on Sunday, things move to a full day of entertainment at Meadow Park.