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Chicago is hosting the LGBTQ 51st Pride Month celebration in June 2021, unlike in 2020, when it was canceled due to the pandemic. Things will be a little different this year. Pride in the Park will begin on Saturday, June 26, 2021, and end Sunday, June 27. The Pride Parade will be held on October 3, while Pride Fest has no set date, as yet.
The annual month-long event honors the uprising of LGBTQ patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village regarding a raid on June 27, 1969, which led to a gay protest on June 27, 1970. This protest planted the seed for a celebration that has been held annually since 1972.
LGBTQ Pride in the Park was added to the festivities in 2019 as an awesome music event held in Grant Park.
It will run from 3 to 10 p.m. with two separate stage areas. Dynamic DJs, dramatic drag kings and queens, outrageous outfits, fantastic food and vendors, and magnificent music from CircuitMOM, a Chicago-based event company headed by Matthew Harvat, are things to look forward to.
Headlining the event will be Grammy-winning and “Godfather of EDM” Tiësto together with the “Queen of Funk” Chaka Khan.
Other performers include, but are not limited to:
- Gryffin, performing a DJ set.
- Australian Betty Who, most known for “I Love You Always Forever.”
- House DJ Derrick Carter.
- Award-winning producer Tracy Young.
Sadly, the coordinator of LGBTQ Chicago’s Pride Parade since 1974, Richard William Pfeiffer, died on Oct. 6, 2019. He was 70 years old. Pfeiffer made history for serving as an activist the longest.
Art Johnston, co-owner of Sidetrack and co-founder of Equality Illinois, credits Pfeiffer’s committed and consistent leadership to Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade to its growth from hundreds of participants to thousands of marchers and over a million viewers.
Pfeiffer held the title of volunteer marshal from 1974 until he died.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated that Amy and I were very saddened to learn about the passing of Richard Pfeiffer. Richard was a tireless gay rights activist, whose boundless energy led him to lead countless advocacy groups over the past decades, from the Chicago Gay Alliance to the Mayor’s Advisory Council, the Gay Speakers Bureau, along with many others. But Richard’s greatest legacy lies in Chicago’s own iconic Pride Parade, which for nearly 50 years he worked so hard to organize, guiding it to become the overwhelming celebration of love and acceptance that it is today. Richard was a living example of the power of speaking out and fighting for what you know is right. Our thoughts are with his beloved partner Tim, as well as the countless friends, family, and fellow activists Richard worked, laughed and celebrated with over the course of his incredible life.
The 51st annual Chicago LGBTQ Pride Parade will march through Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood at noon on Sunday, October 3, 2021, at Montrose Avenue and Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood. It will travel through the north side of the city, ending near the intersection of Diversey Parkway and Sheridan Road in Lincoln Park.
Tickets are required for admission to LGBTQ Pride in the Park and can be found at PrideParkChi.com. There is no fee to attend the Pride Fest or watch the Parade. There is a voluntary donation requested at the entry to Pride Fest. The donation will support community programs.
Chicago Pride has become one of the largest and well-known Pride events in the world and promotes a COVID-safe outdoor festival that brings equity, diversity, safety, and sounds to the main stage. Its official charity partnership with The Center on Halsted donates part of its ticket sales to ensure LGBTQ and underprivileged youth may participate, feel welcomed, and celebrate their pride openly.
Written by Brenda Robinson
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
GoPride: Chicago Pride Parade & Festivals – 2021
GOPride: 2020 Pride In The Park Canceled Due to Corona Virus Outbreak
GayTravel4U: PRIDE IN THE PARK 2021
Featured Image Courtesy of dancetechtv’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Steve Baker’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License