June is generally considered the “official” month for Pride celebrations, as parades and festivals often commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots in NYC. But Pride should be a year-round celebration, and as some of the best Pride events were established decades before June became known as “Pride month.” some of the biggest, most fantastic events continue throughout the summer.
Here are the five best Pride events in the summer:
San Diego Pride, July 15 and 16
San Diego Pride is one of the most beautiful Pride festivals in the US, as the festival takes place in gorgeous Balboa Park. After the parade on July 15, enter through the rainbow gates at the edge of the park, and stroll through the trees on the path to the outdoor amphitheater for the shows.
For 2023, Princess Nokia and Saucy Santana headline the festival on the mainstage, along with Russian activists Pussy Riot, and American Idol’s David Archuleta in his first appearance at a Pride event.
Christopher Street Day Berlin, July 23
Berlin Pride, known locally as Christopher Street Day, has a particularly robust schedule of events for weeks leading up to the main event, with queer history walking tours and bondage workshops, and drag shows galore. Catch the boat parade on The Spree on July 20, the main river through Berlin. The main event has historically been held at the Brandenburg Gates, and hundreds of thousands of people attend each year.
Chicago Northalsted Market Days, August 12-13
Long before the city had a Pride parade, Chicago had Market Days.
Founded in 1982 to promote the businesses in the neighborhood known as “Boystown,” Market Days is now one of Chicago’s greatest summer festivals, with over 300,000 people crowding into the party along North Halsted St., where food vendors, shops, and the legendary bars of Boystown host booths all day and night.
Chicago has added a fantastic pride parade on the anniversary weekend of Stonewall, as well as an event known as “Pride In The Park” in Millennium Park, which is basically a music festival with rainbow lighting.
But Market Days is the event of the year for Boystown locals. Entrance to the event is a suggested donation, and proceeds from Market Days are donated to community organizations, like the Equality Illinois and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.
Provincetown Carnival, August 12-19
Provincetown hosts a Pride festival at the beginning of June, but Provincetown Carnival in August (photo, top of story) is the biggest and gayest party of the year. Carnival is a wild celebration of costumes, drag, and general gay revelry, including a Bro-ni Party (guys who are into My Little Pony, it’s a thing), the sexy pool party at the Brass Key Inn (photo above), and performances by Miss Richfield 1981 and Alyssa Edwards. The parade on Thursday, August 17 will be wild.
Manchester Pride, August 27-30
Manchester is one of the great queer capitals of Europe, and Manchester Pride is one of the rowdiest Pride events in the UK. The gay village in the city center along Canal St. is ground zero for the 2023 festivities, where Jake Shears and Natasha Bedingfield share a lineup with an arsenal of drag queens and performance artists that will keep those Brits drinking pints and dancing in the streets all weekend.
Be sure to mark your calendars for Pride festivals in autumn: Las Vegas Pride October 7, Atlanta Pride October 14-15, Taiwan Pride October 28-29, and Palm Springs Pride November 3-5!
