Chicago Gay Pride

Gay Pride Chicago is a vast gay event taking place each year in Illinois' largest city. It includes a weekend festival and a parade on Pride Sunday. However, Gay Pride Chicago is just one part of June Pride Month in the city. Historically, in the 1970s and 1980s, Pride events were concentrated during a week called 'Pride Week' in Chicago. The Pride Week was expanded to 'Pride Month' to accommodate the abundance of events. Now, there are 30 days of around 100 different social, cultural, and sporting events in other areas of the Chicago metro area. Expect workshops, dances, picnics, plays, film screenings and more!

The Chicago Pride Parade, also called the Chicago Gay Pride Parade or PRIDE Chicago, is held on the last Sunday of June. Chicago's Pride Parade is one of the USA's largest parades in attendance, with 1,000,000+ people. The first parade was organized on June 27, 1970, as a march from Washington Square to the Water Tower, but then many of the participants spontaneously marched onto the Civic Center Plaza. For many years, the parade was held only in Lake View East. Recent parades have extended the route into the Uptown neighborhood.

The weekend before the Chicago Pride Parade in Boystown, the Chicago Pride Fest starts the celebration! The annual Chicago Pride Fest is a two-day street festival held over the weekend leading up to the Chicago Pride Parade, which celebrates LGBTQ life, culture, and community. The festival features live music by famous artists, three stages, food and drink, 100+ arts/craft and merchant vendors, DJs and dancing, drag shows, a pet parade, sponsor booths, and more at Halsted Street and Addison in Boystown, America's first recognized gay village.

The Chicago Pride Parade is held on the last Sunday in June, and the weather is usually warm and dry. So there's no excuse not to get out your finest tee and march with pride in this lively city of Illinois. So, have you penciled in Gay Pride Chicago to your calendar yet? We sure hope so!  

For full details on Chicago Pride and all previous editions, be sure to check out the official event program. Happy Pride! 

Photos Gay Pride Chicago 2015 / 2016 © niXerKG, John W. Iwanski, nathanmac87 and Cheryl Adams - Flickr