If you are planning to attend, remember to stay hydrated!
Pride: Durham Parade and Festival
Pride: Durham attracts people from all over the Research Triangle region and beyond. You’re supposed to feel happy, no matter what –…
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More than 75,000 people are expected to attend this free event.
NC State PrideFest – In recognition of National Coming Out Day and LGBTQ+ History Month, campus partners at NC State host the annual NC State Pridefest in October, previously known as Pride Walk. A fantastical romance with potent queer and feminist messages, the movie is as entertaining as it is enlightening, equal parts hilarious and…
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The festival takes place in June each year.
Out! The festival and parade are always free to attend. While this list doesn’t cover them all, it includes all of the largest festivals and parades celebrating LGBTQ pride in the state.
Pride season is traditionally in June, but many North Carolina cities set their own agenda and hold Pride events at different times throughout the year.
One vendor in particular, After the Bloom, a dried floral and lifestyle business, donates a portion of all sales each year directly to gender-expansive folks needing some love. Last updated on Oct 16, 2020.
With drag show performances, local vendors offering lots of fun activities, a food truck, and a DJ to keep the music going, all you need to do is don your sparkles and rainbows, and join in this celebration of Pride in Wilmington!
Family Pride Picnic – Keep your Saturdays open in June for the Family Pride Picnic in Wilmington taking place in the picnic shelter adjacent to the splash pad, reserved annually for this event.
It features a family-friendly vendor fair, drag entertainment, music, dancing, food, and “The world’s smallest Pride Parade.”
Jacksonville Pride Events
ONE COMMUNITY Pride Festival – sponsored by ONE COMMUNITY Pride, the Festival in Jacksonville is typically celebrated on a Saturday in June. Local vendors, sweet treats of cupcakes and rainbow cake, Pride bingo, drag performances, lip sync battles, a “Show Your Pride” photo booth, live music, a Kid Zone, and exclusive Wilson Pride merchandise are just some of what you can expect at this one-day event.
The festival is free and family-friendly. There’s also a Diversity and Inclusion training that covers topics including how to be a trans ally, breaking down gender binaries, and understanding gender identity.
Wilkesboro Pride Events
Wilkes True Colors Pride Fest is an outdoor event featuring live music, drag performances, vendors, food trucks, kid’s face painting, kids coloring booth, a selfie booth, and more.
Despite warnings about a second Trump presidency armed with a MAGA guide book, few of us expected so much. Here’s our look back at the good, bad and ugly. Pride parties held throughout the Triangle area, provide an opportunity to support inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community.
Fayetteville Pride Events
Fayetteville Pridefest is the city’s largest LGBTQ+ event, and takes place at Festival Park with thousands expected to attend.
It’s a family-friendly event offering arts and crafts, community resources, a family care tent, and special speakers and entertainers. It is in the style of High Victorian architecture, as so much of our city was built, and is just plain quirky.
According to the organization behind Pride: Durham, Durham was the home of the first Pride march in the state of North Carolina in the 1980s.
In 2018, the original NC Pride organization that marched in Durham every year dissolved and Pride: Durham was created in its place.
Today, Pride: Durham is the largest Pride celebration in the Raleigh-Durham area that includes a parade.
Topping off the day is the painting of a community mural, where everyone is invited to join in to “make their mark on it.”
Port City Pride Dock Street Block Party – The Port City Pride Dock Street Block Party is where people from all over North Carolina come together to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride in Wilmington.
This week-long Pride celebration, usually occurring in June, and sponsored by Pleasure Island Pride, kicks off with The Agayzing Race Scavenger Hunt and Kickoff Party. Raleigh Pride Festival
North Carolina’s capital city also hosts a huge pride event, attended by over 70,000 people. By showcasing the diverse LGBTQ+ community in The Tar Heel State, these Pride events send a powerful message of solidarity and progress in the ongoing fight for equal rights and social acceptance.
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With raffles, live music, performances, Pride merchandise, and much more, you are guaranteed a good time. Learn more about these events on the Winston-Salem Pride event calendar.
OBX Pridefest
OBX Pridefest is the biggest pride celebration for North Carolina’s coastal Outer Banks region. Offering platforms for education, advocacy, entertainment, and a sense of unity for both the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, North Carolina’s Pride events play a crucial role in promoting diversity, acceptance, and equal rights within the state.
Food and crafts are for sale.
Charlotte Pride takes place in Uptown Charlotte, so parking can be tricky.