11 Gay Pride Parades Where You Can Be Loud and Be Proud

Miami Beach Pride hosts its annual beach party, festival, and parade for the LGBTQI community with plenty of glitz and glamour. It’s a weekend with tons of fun-filled events taking place right in the middle of Miami Beach’s most prominent street, Ocean Drive. During Miami Beach Pride couples, friends and families dress up in creative, colorful costumes as they gather together to celebrate the freedom to be who you are. It’s one of the most mind-blowing, spectacular and entertaining events you can attend in Miami for the LGBTQI community.

Read the latest on Miami Beach Pride Week here.

The LGBTQ Center & Cleveland Pride Inc. are coming together to celebrate unity with one big event called Pride in the CLE. The parade begins at noon and ends in Public Square where the festival will be held until 6 pm. You can find more information here.

Hundreds of thousands will descend upon our nation’s capital for an iconic celebration of LGBTQI rights on Saturday, June 8th. Most of the festivities take place around the historically gay district of Dupont Circle and of course the National Mall. What better way to celebrate pride than in front of the Capitol? With daily parties ranging from boozy brunches and rooftop cocktails to 5K front-runners at the parade – you can’t help but immerse yourself in the experience. You can read more about the parade here.

Boston Pride is a week-long celebration of the hurdles we’ve overcome as a community, culminating in the Pride Parade. Glitter fills the air and rainbows take over the streets. With neighborhood-specific events, you can adventure across the city and experience all of what Boston’s eclectic neighborhoods have to offer. Block parties shut down entire areas as the city celebrates loudly and proudly. More information here.

If you are looking to have an awesome time during Pride month, you can’t miss one of the hottest celebrations in the Caribbean. In the town of Cabo Rojo located in the West Coast of Puerto Rico, Boquerón Pride Fest is the island’s most anticipated with allies coming from all corners of the island and the world to celebrate equality.

Stonewall Columbus Pride presents Pride For All, celebrating inclusiveness and community in Central Ohio. The Columbus Gay Pride weekend kicks off with the festival in the heart of downtown Columbus at Bicentennial and Genoa Park.

Diversity is celebrated as the parade includes corporations, spiritual institutions, local LGBTQI-owned businesses, and fun and leisure organizations. Festival entry also includes performances from local LGBTQI artists, ranging from live music to drag. Plan to celebrate one of the largest Prides in the country and get caught up in the glitter, rainbows, and community atmosphere.

Find out the latest on Columbus Pride Festival here.

Denver Pride is held both Saturday and Sunday, spreading love and equality throughout colorful downtown Denver. Saturday, June 15th is the big family day of the festival, and there are activities, live music, and over 200 vendors. Sunday is left for the Pride Parade which starts bright and early at 9 am and leaves from Cheesman Park which is arguably our most eclectic and LGBTQI-filled neighborhood.

The Parade fills the streets with smiling faces, rainbow flags, and thumping club music. The energy is absolutely contagious. Several bars, clubs, and restaurants throw parties all weekend long showing their love for the LGBTQI community. (Glow sticks, glitter, and body paint optional.)

Toronto Pride has firmly been a summer festival mainstay for decades and continues to grow year on year (though it’s hard to beat the million-plus attendees of the city’s WorldPride 2014). While the LGBTQI community may find itself at home in all different corners of Toronto these days, the midsummer homecoming to the Church-Wellesley Village is never without full pomp and extravagance. Bodacious drag performances, late night clubbing, and street food by day bring community members and allies (hi Mom and Dad!) alike to Church Street.

The week culminates with three different parades: the Trans’ Pride March, the Dyke March and then Sunday’s Pride Parade. The Parade highlights inclusivity and intersectionality that prove, especially in the case of Toronto, that LGBTQI individuals come from all corners of the earth, of different creeds, confessions, and professions. And of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a darling Justin Trudeau cameo.

As Pride season kicks off, choosing the perfect location that offers scenic views, an entertaining atmosphere, and exclusive parties could seem like an overwhelming challenge. But take it from this Los Angeles to San Francisco transplant — San Francisco Pride has everything you’d want in one of the world’s best cities.

Whether you’re partying alongside the LGBTQI locals while taking advantage of the legendary nightlife, breathing in the historic locales, or carving out your own path in this classic city of new age ideas, every moment you spend in San Francisco will become an unforgettable part of your Pride experience.

The city prides itself on its reputation as one of the most LGBTQI-friendly cities — and for good reason. If your ideal Pride experience includes being surrounded by thousands of other individuals celebrating equality and love in a place unlike any other, San Francisco Pride 2019 is ready to welcome you. (Find out more about this year’s festivities here.)

Chicago celebrates Pride like Germany or Italy do Carnival or even Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It’s a cultural event where anyone and everyone is welcome — encouraged, even —  to line up along Halsted and scream your head off with a beverage or two in hand as some of the most, let’s say, eye-catching floats work their way down through Boystown. Pride is such a staple of Chicago that not only do you have the parade, traditionally on the last Sunday of June, but you have a two-day festival the week before on Halsted — the historic heart of Chicago’s LGBTQI community.

With near-perfect weather, famous beach locations, and a sea of suntanned Southern California beach bods, San Diego is one of the most popular Pride Celebrations in the Western United States. The Saturday parade contingent is enormous, with everything from famous drag queens and elected officials to LGBTQI families and elaborate floats filled with dancing men and women. The Pride Festival is just as fun, lasting all weekend in nearby Balboa Park with multiple stages and over 90 acts including top performers like TLC, along with food, a beer garden, and loads of socializing.

Get the latest on San Diego Pride here.