The two-day event will take place October 1st-2nd, leading up to the rescheduled Chicago Pride Parade on October 3rd. The festivities could still return next year, tentatively scheduled for June 26, 2022.Ĭhicago Pride Fest will return in October, the same weekend as the Pride ParadeĬhicago Pride Fest organizers confirmed to that the first weekend of October will mark the official return of the 20th annual festival. While the Parade was initially pushed back to early October, organizer Tim Frye announced the cancellation due to COVID-19 safety concerns and rising case numbers. We hate to say it, but Block Club Chicago reports that the Chicago Pride Parade has been canceled for the second year in a row.
Headliners for Pride Fest include Mya, Shangela, Vincint, Crystal waters, and many more! Check out the full lineup here.Ĭhicago Pride Parade canceled for the second year in a row due to COVID-19 concerns Northalsted Business Alliance posted that they would be following the same precautions as Market Days from August (attendees are encouraged to be fully vaccinated or wear a mask, indoor establishments will require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test for entry) and have received a sign off on their COVID protocols from Howard Brown Health. Pride Fest is officially moving forward with their rescheduled dates from October 1st-3rd, extending the festivities into Sunday, October 3rd in light of the canceled Pride Parade. Pride Fest announces artist lineup, extends festivities to 3 days
Thanks for your continued support and the support of our community!
We have seen some of our favorite venues, bars, and restaurants reopen with reduced capacity while others have permanently closed their doors.Īs vaccination centers expand throughout the city and safety guidelines stay up to date, we are looking forward to the return of Pride celebrations in Chicago while continue working hard to keep our city and its beautiful residents safe.Ĭheck out Gay Do312's Archive to discover what's new in LGBTQ+ Chicago – reopened bars, live shows, activism & resources, and more. Through it all, Chicago's LGBTQ+ community has shown great resilience and growth – from adapting our arts and entertainment to the new digital medium to organizing rallies in the streets of Northalsted and fundraising for local organizations. I will remember and cherish this day for the rest of my life.This past year has been a whirlwind of changes in the way we live our lives and experience our city.
I feel grateful to the brave souls that showed me how to celebrate and reveal what lies beneath. I felt ready to unveil my baldness because those around me were so boldly embracing their own uniqueness. I no longer felt vulnerable or ashamed of what lies beneath, but rather felt ready to celebrate my difference, my journey, my alter ego, and my true self. Sunday, while wearing somewhat different attire, we continued to dance, to celebrate, to live loudly- because this is how we survive.Īs we danced together and separately, I knew we both were thinking about how blessed, how lucky, how "blucked" we were to be there-together- in this sea of moments.Īs the parade ended, and the overstimulation began to subside, I decided to take off my wig and publicly reveal my baldness for the first time. We were at the Lurie Cancer Center Survivors' Walk, wearing purple shirts, and celebrating our dance with cancer. Three weeks earlier, we were at a very different type of celebration. We danced, jumped, and moved because we can, because we should, because we must. Yesterday, as our float slowly made its way through the thousands of people gathered at the parade, Mel Malka, a fellow survivor, and I twisted out Cancer. The more eccentric my appearance becomes, the more embraced and accepted I feel by the community around me. Living in Boystown, a neighborhood that is predominantly gay, has allowed me to feel a sense of "normalcy" during a period that is far from normal.
I have started to become more creative and perhaps bold with what I wear on my head, what I wrap this body in, and what I choose to present to the outside world. It's a day where we embrace our alter egos, which enables us to connect with our true selves.Īs I have struggled to reemerge into the world, and become reacquainted with normalcy, I have also learned how to let my freak fly. People from all over the world gather to celebrate diversity, difference, vulnerability, strength, and love. This day, this parade, this experience, is the ultimate celebration of life. This past weekend, at the Gay Pride Parade, Chicago got a taste of what it is like to see, breathe, and live in hyper-color.