Philadelphia Pride March And Festival Returns With America's Largest Rainbow Flag 400 Ft. Long

Philadelphia Pride Festival will feature over 200 small businesses that Pride 365 has Philly Pride 365: A Program of Galaei invites the entire LGBTQ+ to celebrate Pride 2024: Be You at the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival on Sunday, June 2, 2024.  

The Pride March will form and organize at 6th and Walnut at 10:30am and end in the Philadelphia Gayborhood. Watch for the largest rainbow pride flag in America, this year expanded to 400 feet long. All LGBTQ communities and allies are welcome to join the march, with no registration required. Floats and vehicles are not permitted. When the march reaches the Gayborhood, the festival will begin, running from 12:00pm to 7:00pm, on Walnut to Pine streets, and Quince to Juniper streets, with other select roads closed around the festival footprint. The festival will feature over 200 small businesses and organizations, performers, entertainers, artists, vendors, local bars, food trucks, community organizations, stages and much more. The march and festival is open to all to attend with no admission - and all food and drink are pay-as-you-go. Philadelphia Pride March and Festival are a proud part of Philly Gay Pride Month.

Last year's events were recognized by the CDC for employing a syndemic approach to meeting community needs and delivering tangible services and resources at the festival, while also delivering on the excitement that has become a hallmark of Pride events. Philly Pride 365 is a program of Galaei, a historic organization serving queer, trans, black, brown, indigenous, and people of color.

"Pride is and has always been much more that just a party, it a place where we build community, where we bring about awareness of issues impacting our community, and provide crucial linkages to resources and care" said Galaei Executive Director and Program Director of Philly Pride 365 Tyrell Brown (they/he). "At its core, pride celebrates our community's activist roots in challenging the status quo and celebrating ourselves authentically and freely. Through Philly Pride 365 and the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival, Galaei aims to encourage everyone in our community to stand up, and “BE YOU” celebrating Pride in 2024”

Brown added, "No one organization or individual can own ‘pride', and Galaei celebrates you, celebrating yourself, community, and the love and light you bring to this world both on pride day and year round."

For 2024's celebration, Galaei has selected "BE YOU" as the theme, as coined by Brown during their planning meeting.  

THE “BE YOU” PRIDE MARCH

The Pride March will form and organize at 6th and Walnut at 10:30am and end in the Philadelphia Gayborhood. The Annual Philadelphia Gay News Pride Brunch and Stonewall Awards Ceremony will convene at 11:00am at the Arts Ballroom and brunch attendees will exit to join the "BE YOU" Pride Festival.

The final route for the march is being finalized and will be shared in a future update. The march will be an open invitation to the LGBTQ+ community and allies, with no registration needed. While floats and vehicles will not be permitted, everyone is welcome to join before the march starts for speeches, music, and joy. Please join the Galaei Pride 365 “BE YOU” March through Philadelphia, whether with a group or organization aligned with Galaei's mission, with friends and family, or solo.

The march is an ode to The Reminder Day Demonstrations that were held in front of Independence Hall on Chestnut Street from 1965 until 1969 to raise awareness of bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination toward the LGBTQ+ community and to send the message that “Gay is good.” The 1972 Pride Day March concluded at the same spot 50 years ago.

The march will kick-off with speeches from community leaders and guests and a land acknowledgment from the Lenape Tribe. Then, the march will proceed to the festival. Philly Pride 365 is adding to its legacy and some length to last year's record breaking Pride Flag. Along the way, look for the giant 400 feet long record-breaking pride flag increased from last year's record breaking 200 feet, to be unveiled with help from dozens of community members and volunteers. This is the largest pride flag in Philadelphia history and aims to set the record for the biggest pride flag in Pennsylvania. The flag was custom designed for Galaei and made in Pennsylvania.

THE “BE YOU” PRIDE FESTIVAL

Philly Pride 365 a program of Galaei brings together some of the city's top LGBTQ+ organizers to produce a dynamic festival - and one of the single largest outdoor festivals of the year in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Pride Festival will return 12:00pm to 7:00pm with an expanded footprint, making it one of the largest footprints ever for the city's top pride event. The new footprint will spread out and expand across the Gayborhood from Walnut to Pine streets, and Quince to Juniper streets. This will allow additional Gayborhood favorite businesses that were not considered "in the festival grounds" to now officially participate - including Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room and Mixto, for example. There will be other select roads closed within the festival footprint, with all final street closures, maps and more coming closer to the event date.

The festival will feature over 200 small businesses that Philly Pride 365 has employed an equitable funding model to procure. In addition there will be stages with performances, entertainers, artists, vendors, food trucks, community organizations, and local bars.

"We've coordinated this event with much care around the many intentions and meanings that PRIDE Month, activism, awareness, resources, services, and celebration" said Brown. "Pride is many things; we wish to lift up and celebrate it as both a gathering of extended LGBTQ+ friends and family in the community, as well as grounding the event as a resource fair that uplifts and directly supports the most marginalized members of the QTBIPOC community."

Within the larger festival, Galaei has worked with community partners to build a variety of fun and vibrant spaces for everyone. Youth and Family Programming is an expansive space curated by several local organizations, including The Attic Youth Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence, Galaei's SPLAT program, Philly Family Pride, and the William Way LGBT Community Center. This space has no alcohol and smoke and will feature age-appropriate and safe youth and family programming to celebrate all generations of Philadelphia Pride.

This year's festival continues with unique food and beverage experiences. A dedicated Sober Space and dry bar for adults includes a stage for DJs and performances. In addition, food Truck Way features diverse meal possibilities, with accessible priced food options for all to enjoy.

The Decompression Zone, in conjunction with Disability Pride PA, is a space for attendees seeking an accessible, low-sensory respite from festivities. This area will feature seating, tables, accessible bathrooms, a cooling station, a wheelchair charging station, and low-level music.  This provides a space for elders, those living with disabilities, and others seeking rest and relaxation during the event.

In our POP Wellness Zone there will be Medical Services, resources, and activities staffed by local community groups and CBOs including Action Wellness, Mazzoni Center, Courage Medicine, Therapy Center of Philadelphia, Perez Therapy, and Bebashi. Organizers encourage everyone to stop by POP Wellness and receive resources such as on site testing, linkages to therapy, food support, housing, and other community needs. In addition, Galaei will continue utilizing a community safety model that highlights mental wellness services, social workers, and a professional contracted trained private security. All of these services will be on-site in collaboration with multiple local organizations.

In keeping with Galaei's dedication to highlighting Queer and Trans Black and Brown traditions and forms of expression, Galaei is bringing back “Bailar Con Amor,” an ode to Afro-Latinx heritage art and expression. Additionally, Kiki Alley, a celebration space highlighting the rich culture and history of the Philadelphia ballroom community will also remain as a staple of Philly Pride 365's Pride programming.

To celebrate and lift up the community history, Galaei's Philly Pride 365 is cultivating the second annual Legacy Lane that will feature installations highlighting leaders of the past, present, and future in the Philly community. This year's legacy lane will be extra special as the event highlights the 55th anniversary of Stonewall.

Finally, festival goers are invited to travel back in time at the Millennium Stage to recapture the essence of the 70's, 80's, 90's with a celebration of music from decades past.

The festival's main stage The Philadelphia Muses Stage also returns and will feature a diverse lineup of local performers, producers, and a headlining performance that will be released at a later date.  

The “BE YOU” Philadelphia Pride Festival 2024 includes tabling opportunities for small businesses, community organizations, colleges, trade schools, and universities.

Philly Pride 365 events are coordinated by Galaei staff, volunteers, and contracted production support. 52 years after the city's first Pride, there is still much work to be done for the LGBTQ+ community. This year's theme is centered around celebrating how far we've come, claiming and reclaiming community spaces and joy. Galaei hopes that you will be part of this year's celebration of Philly Pride 365 : “BE YOU” Pride celebration for 2024.

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