Pride celebrations occur across the United States during Pride Month, which is observed in June in the U.S., commemorating the anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1969. Many cities and localities across the U.S. have celebrations, including traditions that have been ongoing for decades.
The first pride celebrations began in the early 1970s in urban areas like New York City and San Francisco, then gradually spread to less populous areas. Pride Month first became a federal observance in June 1999. In the 2020s, pride celebrations became more common in rural areas across the country.
According to the Pew Research Center, most (66%) of the LGBTQ adults in the U.S. have attended at least one pride celebration, and 49% have attended multiple times. Of all non-LGBTQ adults in the U.S., 16% have attended pride celebrations.
Types of pride celebrations
Common pride celebration types include parades, festivals, and protests. Pride picnics are also common; for example, Gays Eating Garlic Bread in the Park has been held in various cities across the United States. The U.S. has hosted WorldPride twice: once in New York City in 2019 on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and once in Washington, D.C. in 2025 during the second Trump administration despite government actions against LGBTQ people.
Pride parades often feature national groups alongside local ones as a way to honor and celebrate those groups. Dykes on Bikes tend to lead the parade, especially at San Francisco Pride, where the tradition started. Drag performances are common at pride festivals, and in pride parades local drag performers are often highlighted alongside national groups like the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Activist organizations that support or advocate for LGBTQ people are often represented at pride parades; common types include HIV/AIDS activist organizations, LGBTQ-friendly homelessness advocacy groups and shelters, and legal groups like the ACLU. Some parades include grand marshals as a position of honor for individuals who have made significant contributions to the community.
Many celebrations are for the general community, but some are focused on specific groups or subcultures. Common events include Black gay pride, Latino pride, Asian pride, Pacific Islander pride, youth pride, dyke marches, trans marches, trans pride, and leather pride. Curve Magazine is the host of the international Lesbian Visibility Week in the U.S. and across North America.
Some pride celebrations are affiliated with institutions. For example, in the month of June, Playbill prints rainbow versions of their magazine for Broadway shows. Some major league sports teams hold Pride Nights, and some Catholic parishes hold special Masses for pride month. Cities such as New York City and San Francisco hold Pride Runs, and many of these events are organized by the Frontrunners.
Pride celebrations by state or territory
Alabama The largest annual pride celebration in Alabama is Central Alabama Pride, which is held in Birmingham and was attended by more than 20,000 people in 2018. Birmingham has had pride celebrations since 1979. Pride on the Plains is also held annually in Auburn, and River City Pride is held in downtown Decatur, Alabama. There are also pride celebrations in Mobile and Fairhope. Florence has held a pride parade since 2017.
Alaska
Anchorage has a pride parade in June. The first pride march in Anchorage took place in 1977, and the city has held pride events nearly every year since then.
Unalaska has held pride events since the early 2020s. Homer held its first pride celebration in 2018 with around 300 people in attendance, and that same year the Matanuska-Susitna Valley held their first pride celebration in Palmer, Alaska. Other Alaskan localities that have held pride celebrations include Seward and Soldotna.
Arizona Phoenix hosts Phoenix Pride every year, but not in June due to heat concerns. Tucson also holds an annual pride event called Pride in the Desert as well as a Latino Pride event. Bisbee has a pride celebration that was attended by 7,000 people in 2026. Flagstaff hosts an annual Pride in the Park event.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have held Pride Nights since 2018, and the Phoenix Mercury have held an annual Pride Day since 2014.
Arkansas
Arkansas's largest Pride event is Fayetteville's Northwest Arkansas Pride, with more than 35,000 attendees. Other events include Little Rock's Central Arkansas Pride and Little Rock Black Pride, and NEA PRIDEfest in Jonesboro, as well as celebrations in Conway, Eureka Springs, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Magnolia and Russellville.
California
The largest pride event in California is San Francisco Pride, followed by LA Pride and San Diego Pride. There are additional pride celebrations throughout the state, such as in Santa Cruz, Fresno, and Sacramento.
San Bernardino Black Pride has been celebrated since 2026.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles has multiple pride celebrations. LA Pride is one of the largest pride events in the world. Long Beach has hosted the Long Beach Pride parade since June 1984. Hermosa Beach has hosted the Hermosa Beach Pride parade since 2021. There are also the DTLA Proud Festival in Downtown Los Angeles, WeHo Pride in West Hollywood, Venice Pride in Venice, SaMo Pride in Santa Monica, and Los Angeles Black Pride.
The first Lesbian Visibility Week celebrations in the United States were held in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, organized by the West Hollywood Lesbian and Gay Advisory Council and the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center.
Los Angeles Leather Pride is a week-long event held in March, and it ends with the Off Sunset Festival in the Silver Lake neighborhood.
Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park hosts Out on the Mountain, an annual pride event in August.
Orange County Though Orange County has historically suffered from an undercurrent of homophobia, multiple pride celebrations take place in the county. The first and largest pride celebration takes place in Santa Ana. Similar events take place in Mission Viejo, Irvine, Ladera, and Fullerton.
Disneyland hosts Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite at its park in Anaheim. Ikea also hosts a Pride Walk at its Costa Mesa location.
San Diego San Diego Pride hosts an annual pride event which, with over 250,000 attendants, is the largest annual single-day civic event in the city of San Diego.
San Francisco
San Francisco Pride was first held in 1970. The original rainbow flag designed by Gilbert Baker was debuted at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade in June 1978, and a mile-long version of the flag was carried in the parade in 1994. Today, San Francisco Pride is held in June and attended by hundreds of thousands of people. The city also has a Trans March and a Dyke March.
San Francisco's Leather Week is held in September. It begins with a LeatherWalk and ends with the Folsom Street Fair.
The first Pride Run was held in San Francisco in 1981, and San Francisco FrontRunners continue to hold the event today.
Sonoma County Sonoma County Pride organizes a pride parade in Santa Rosa each June, along with other events throughout pride month. Santa Rosa also had their first Dyke March in 2026.
Colorado
Denver has hosted an annual PrideFest since June 1974, and the event is attended by around 500,000 people every year. The city hosts a Black Pride event as well. The Pikes Peak Pride parade is held in Colorado Springs; about 40,000 people attended in 2025. Estes Park has held an annual pride celebration since 2023. The NoCo Pride March has been held in Fort Collins since 2019. There are also pride events in Aurora, Avon, Boulder, Grand Junction, and Pueblo.
Connecticut The largest pride event in Connecticut is PrideFest Middletown. Other pride events in Connecticut are held in Bridgeport, Glastonbury, Hartford, Mansfield, Mystic, Norwalk, Ridgefield, and Watertown.
Delaware The Delaware Pride Festival is the largest annual pride event in Delaware. It was first held in Wilmington in 1997, but has since moved to Dover.
Florida
St. Pete Pride is the largest pride celebration in Florida, with hundreds of thousands in attendance every year. It has been held since 2003 in St. Petersburg.
Naples PrideFest is held in April in Naples, Florida, and River City Pride is held in the Riverside neighborhood of Jacksonville.
Orlando is home to many pride celebrations, several of which are held in memory of the victims of the local Pulse nightclub shooting. The Pulse Day of Remembrance, also known as #OrlandoUnitedDay, is on June 12. On this day, the community gathers to remember and honor the 49 people who were killed at the Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. Pulse Remembrance Events include the Annual CommUNITY Rainbow Run and memorial exhibitions, among others.
Pride events occur throughout June. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing arts has several shows and events to celebrate the LGBTQ community. Orlando Gay Chorus celebrates Pride with several performances. In 2026, they celebrated Pride with performances in May at the Ritz Theater in Sanford on May 15 and at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing arts on May 31. Universal CityWalk admission is free and has themed Love is Universal nights every Thursday to Saturday night with music, dancing, and live entertainment. Orlando Bear Pride hosts the Bear Jamboree to kick off Pride Month and Girls in Wonderland is a music festival for queer women.
On the first weekend in June, Gay Days Orlando puts on RED Shirt Pride Day, inviting attendants to wear red to raise visibility and show solidarity with the LGBTQ community. The event was first held in 1991. In 2026, it was cancelled amid mounting pressure from state politicians and a broader anti-LGBTQ backlash across the country, although organizers said the event would return in a modified form in the future. For 30 years, One Magical Weekend at Walt Disney World Resort has brought together thousands of LGBTQ travelers from around the world, and the Pride Cup is an LGBTQ sports competition also held that weekend.
St. Pete Pride has been celebrated in St. Petersburg since 2003.
Each October, Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando hosts the Come Out With Pride parade in honor of National Coming Out Day.
There have been Black Pride events in Fort Lauterdale and Wilton Manors since 2025.
Polk Pride is held in Lakeland, Florida.
Georgia
Atlanta Pride is the largest pride celebration in the South, and the largest free pride parade in the U.S. It was established in 1971. The Atlanta pride parade is in October every year (corresponding with National Coming Out Day). Atlanta Black Pride centers Atlanta's Black LGBTQ community. Other pride celebrations in the state include Augusta Pride (established in 2010), Southern Fried Queer Pride, and celebrations in Athens, Columbus, Rome, Savannah, and Smyrna.
Guam Historically, LGBTQ people in Guam held discreet, indoor pride celebrations. In 2016, Lasia Casil founded Guam LGBT Pride, and that June the organization held "a small festival on the beach", marking Guam's first documented pride celebration to take place outdoors. The first pride march in Guam was held in 2017, and in 2018 hundreds of people joined the march and beach festival in Tumon. The government of Guam has officially supported pride month since 2021, and now holds an annual celebration with official proclamations and the raising of the pride flag over the Adelup government complex in Hagåtña.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Tamuning has held special services for pride month since at least 2009.
Hawaii