Phoenix Pride (formerly known as Phoenix Pride March & Rally,[1] Desert Pride,[2] Arizona Central Pride,[2] and Phoenix Pride Festival[2]) is a parade and festival held each year in Phoenix, Arizona to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their allies.
Unlike other pride parades in major US cities, which is held in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots,[3] Phoenix Pride has been held outside of the summer months in Arizona since at least 2004,[4] due to high summer temperatures.[5] [6]
Phoenix has had a history of hosting gay pride-themed events even before the first pride parade was held in 1981.[1] In June 1977, the first gay pride week was organized in Phoenix by the city’s LGBTQ+ community at the time.[1]
The first pride parade in Phoenix took place in 1981, and it was organized by the Lesbian & Gay Pride Planning Committee, which was led by Kirk Baxter and BJ Bud.[1] The first parade was a march from Patriots Square Park (now the site of CityScape) to the Arizona State Capitol.[4] The event was a politically focused march that aimed to bring awareness to LGBT rights issues in the Phoenix area.[4] Newspaper reports at the time estimated 600 to 1,000 people attended the evening march,[7] although later research has put the figure to over 700 people having taken part.[1]
From 1983 to 1985, the march took place on a portion of Phoenix's Central Avenue Corridor,[4] and the event in 1987 became politically focused once again, as it was combined with an event aimed at recalling controversial Governor Evan Mecham.[4]
A non-profit organization was established to coordinate the pride festival in 1991.[4] That same year, after a decade of hosting the event in Phoenix, the pride festival was moved to Tempe Diablo Stadium.[4]
The event was moved to Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix in 1998, and moved to Steele Indian School Park in 2003, where it is still being held to this day.[4]
In 2020, the parade and festival was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with event organizers saying they will reschedule the event to a time during the fall. Days after the announcement to postpone was made, organizers announced an alternative date of November 7 and 8.[8] 2020's parade was later rescheduled to 2021, in effect cancelling Phoenix Pride for 2020.[9]
| Year | Dates | Theme/Slogan | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | June | We Are Here | March: Patriots Square Park to Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Lesbian activist Arlie Scott and Leonard Matlovich. | |
| 1982 | We are Family | March: Patriots Square Park to Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Charlotte Bunch. 17 people walked to the event from Tucson. | ||
| 1983 | Uniting for Freedom, Recognition, and Understanding | March: Central Avenue, Phoenix Rally: Phoenix Civic Plaza (now Phoenix Convention Center), Phoenix | Keynote speaker: David Clarenbach | ||
| 1984 | Unity and More in ’84 | March: Central Avenue, Phoenix Rally: Phoenix Civic Plaza (now Phoenix Convention Center), Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Flo Kennedy | ||
| 1985 | Our Future in Our Hands | March: Central Avenue, Phoenix | Keynote speaker: John Heilman | ||
| 1986 | Phoenix Pride Emerging | Event: South Mountain Park, Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Cleve Jones | ||
| 1987 | Silent No More / Hands Across the Capitol | Rally: Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix | Participants held hands, and surrounded the Arizona State Capitol. | ||
| 1988 | Unity ’88 | Festival: Phoenix Civic Plaza (now Phoenix Convention Center), Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Carolyn Warner. | ||
| 1989 | Stonewall Remembered | March: Patriots Square Park to Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix Rally: Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Karen Thompson. | ||
| 1990 | A New Decade of Pride | Festival: El Lienzo Charro Rodeo Grounds, Phoenix | Keynote speaker: Lynn Lavner. | ||
| 1991 | Desert Pride: It’s Hot | Festival: Kiwanis Park, Tempe | |||
| 1992 | Pride = Power: A Simple Matter of Justice | Festival: Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe | |||
| 1993 | A Family of Pride | Festival: Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe | |||
| 1994 | Stonewall 25: A Global Celebration of Pride | Festival: Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe | Festival expands to becoming a three-day event. | ||
| 1995 | Discover Pride | Festival: Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe | |||
| 1996 | May 31 – June 2[10] | Discover: Pride Without Borders | Festival: Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe | ||
| 1997 | June (Festival) April (Parade) | Pride…Equality Through Visibility | Festival: Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe | ||
| 1998 | Pride 98…A Gateway to Change | Festival: Margaret T. Hance Park, Phoenix | |||
| 1999 | Millions of Lives…One Voice in Pride | Festival: Margaret T. Hance Park, Phoenix | First year of 5K Pride Run | ||
| 2000 | April 14 (Pageant) April 15 (Parade)[11] | One Heart, One Mind, One Vision, Take Pride, Take Joy, Take Action | Festival: Margaret T. Hance Park, Phoenix | The Transgender Pride Flag made its debut during this year's event.[12] | |
| 2001 | June | What Part of Equal Don't You Understand | Festival: Margaret T. Hance Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2002 | For One Day Feel Like the Majority | Festival: Margaret T. Hance Park, Phoenix | |||
| 2003 | Let Your Pride Be Your Guide | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | First year the pride parade headed in a northerly direction. | ||
| 2004 | April 3 (Parade) April 4 (Festival) | Celebrating Rainbow Flag 25 | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | First ever Phoenix Gay Pride Week proclamation made by then Mayor Phil Gordon. | |
| 2005 | April 2 (Parade) April 2–3 (Festival) | 25 Years of Pride in Phoenix | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | 5K Pride Run held on April 3. | |
| 2006 | April 1 (Parade) April 1–2 (Festival) | 10th Annual Parade | Parade: 3rd Street, Phoenix Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | 5K Pride Run held on April 2. | |
| 2007 | April 14 (Parade) April 14–15 (Festival) | Over The Top | Parade: 3rd Street, Phoenix Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | 5K Pride Run held on April 15. | |
| 2008 | April 14 (Parade) April 14–15 (Festival) | The Celebration Starts Here! (Parade) More Color, More Voices, More Pride | (Festival) | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | |
| 2009 | April 18 (Parade) April 18–19 (Festival) | Celebrate Community, Celebrate Family, Celebrate YOU! | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | Pride Gala organized for the first time in June, as well as the first OUTdayPHX in October. | |
| 2010 | April 17 (Parade) April 17–18 (Festival) | 1 Community. 3 Decades. 4 Pride | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | Parade sponsored by Verizon Wireless. | |
| 2011 | April 16 (Parade) April 16–17 (Festival) | Do Ask. Do Tell. Be Proud | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2012 | April 21 (Parade) April 21–22 (Festival) | Born This Way. Feel It. Live It. Be It. Proud! | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2013 | April 6 (Parade) April 6–7 (Festival) | Equality & Justice For All | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2014 | April 5 (Parade) April 5–6 (Festival) | Be Heard, Stay Strong, Be You | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | Celebrity Grand Marshal: Brittney Griner | |
| 2015 | April 12 (Parade) April 11–12 (Festival) | Passionate, Powerful & Proud | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | Parade moved to a Sunday, for the first time. | |
| 2016 | April 3 (Parade) April 2–3 (Festival) | Community Strong | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2017 | April 2 (Parade) April 1–2 (Festival) | Stand Up, Stand Proud | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2018 | April 8 (Parade) April 7–8 (Festival) | United We Stand, Equality For All | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2019 | April 7 (Parade) April 6–7 (Festival) | Celebrating Progress: Past, Present, and Future | Festival: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | ||
| 2020 | Cancelled | Celebrating 40 Years of Fortitude | Planned: Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | Event originally scheduled for April 4–5. Originally postponed to November 7–8 due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United States,[13] later rescheduled to 2021, in effect a cancellation. | |
| 2021 | November 6(Parade) November 6–7(Festival)[14] | Celebrating 40 Years of Fortitude | Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix | Originally scheduled for April 10 and 11, with the parade on April 11. Postponed to November due to ongoing concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. | |
Activists who disrupted 2017's pride parade have criticized Phoenix Pride as being overly commercialized, in its present form, and accused organizers of straying from its original theme of standing up for the rights of people.[15] Similar criticisms have been leveled against other pride parades around the country.[16]
