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Courtesy of Pride St. Louis
PrideFest
Scott Lokitz Photography
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Courtesy of Pride St. Louis
PrideFest
Scott Lokitz Photography
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Courtesy of Pride St. Louis
PrideFest
Scott Lokitz Photography
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Courtesy of Pride St. Louis
PrideFest
Scott Lokitz Photography
Despite turning 35 this year, PrideFest St. Louis is showing no signs of letting up. In fact, it’s getting even more vigorous in its middle age. Its youthful vitality is evident in the massive party it’s throwing at the Soldiers' Memorial on June 28 and 29, with the change of venue allowing it to throw a better, bigger, badder event by expanding programming and community outreach. Last year, PrideFest drew over 125,00 people, and early indications point to that number being eclipsed by this year’s revelry. And with a broad range of activities that embraces the diversity of St. Louis, it's shaping up as an off-the-hook block party of glitz and glam that is as hot as St. Louis summer.
In addition to continuous entertainment via two performance stages that will flank each side of the festival grounds, there will be vendors, DJs, an athletic area, a children’s space, and exhibits devoted to education about LGBT history, which include rare items from the original St. Louis Pride, circa 1980. Pride will also recognize LGBT soldiers, past and present, with a wreath-laying ceremony at 11a.m. on Saturday in front of the Soldiers' Memorial. (This tribute, unique to St. Louis, earned a national distinction for PrideFest in 2013.) Pride St. Louis has also stacked this year’s celebration with more performers from many genres to appeal to broader audiences. Saturday’s highlights include choral performances from CHARIS and the Gateway Men’s Chorus; a performance by drag star Manila Luzon; and sets from the Eric Hilman Band, Bella & Lilly, and Ariana and the Rose. The multitalented Glee star Alex Newell closes the night out.
On Sunday, The Grande Pride Parade, an awesome spectacle of pizzazz, pageantry and pop, runs from Market and 8th Street to 18th Street beginning at 11 a.m. This year, the second largest parade in St. Louis—it attracts people from all walks of life, including businesses, organizations, celebrities and civic leaders—honors the memory of the Stonewall Riots in New York, as this year marks the uprising’s 45th anniversary.
“Commemorating and educating the public about LGBT history is a large component of PrideFest each year,” says Pride’s Vice President, Ethan Barnett. He adds that they have also recruited parade marshals from the original founders of St. Louis Pride.
“In fact, the founding ‘mother’ of Pride will be attending this year to honor how far we have come,” he says. “We are also celebrating the birthday of St. Louis by partnering as an Official Celebration Partner of stl250. Also, in celebrating the anniversary of Pride our theme is ‘Unity, History, Diversity’ and we are planning an even larger event than ever before.”
Following the parade, the entertainment goes into high gear with the St. Louis Drag Review, performances from Kim Massie, The Takedown, and comedian Fortune Feimster. To prevent any adrenaline letdown, PrideFest has enlisted a group of talented emcees, including Lady Bunn and Zander Mander on Saturday and Trish Busch and Summer Osborn on Sunday.
PrideFest sprints into the home stretch Sunday night with some headlining heavy-hitters, led by rapper Cazwell (who recently crushed his way onto the Billboard club charts), vivacious Aussie Pop diva Betty Who (who’s been compared to Katy Perry) and pop groovesters MKTO.
A shindig this brassy and bold obviously requires a great deal of planning. For festival organizers, planning PrideFest is a labor of love. “Planning PrideFest is a 365-day-a-year endeavor,” explains Barnett, who has served on the board of Pride St. Louis for the last five years and served as board president and Festival Director for the last two. “As soon as we wrap planning and execution of Pride, we begin working on the next year’s festival. It is July to June each year. Keep in mind that currently Pride is an all-volunteer organization with zero paid staff. Without the hard working volunteers on the board and on the committees, there would be no PrideFest in St. Louis.”
As PrideFest grows, so does its collaborative spirit. Sage, Team St. Louis, Band Together, St. Louis Fringe, Growing American Youth, M3 and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network are just some of the local nonprofits involved with making the event happen.
“PrideFest is constantly growing and evolving,” Barnett says. “We would envision a week of festivities, perhaps a street blast or pool party element added to the festivities, perhaps a family picnic. [But] PrideFest is just one aspect of what Pride St. Louis does as an organization.”
For information on all things PrideFest, including a full schedule of the weekend’s activities, go to pridestl.org/festival.
