蜜柚直播 Pride hosts its 46th annual and parade this weekend, but in between the fanfare, performances, games and vendor booths belies a sense of urgency.
This year's event, dubbed "Together We Rise," comes at a pivotal time for the LGBTQ+ community in 蜜柚直播 and nationwide. For the past year, politicians have waged an intense legislative battle to restrict transgender rights, particularly when it comes to youths.
State legislatures nationwide since 2020 have introduced hundreds of bills attacking LGBTQ rights, according to the聽, with legislative efforts multiplying over the past year or so. With the exception of Illinois and New York, every state is now considering bills that would chip away at LGBTQ rights, the ACLU .
The Republican-led 蜜柚直播 Legislature has put forth nearly a dozen bills so far this year alone aimed at curbing rights for transgender youths and restricting drag shows. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed six of them.
All of this makes 蜜柚直播 Pride Festival President Jeff Fulgham feel like his community is in the crosshairs, which is why "there should be more events (like Pride)," he said.
"We do the events that we have been doing for decades and we probably should be doing more because we need to come together, and we also should bring in our allies,鈥 he said.
Emmanuel Rodarte, left, takes a brief reprieve from the sun in the shade of his rainbow flag while attending Pride in the Park, part of the 39th annual 蜜柚直播 Pride Festival, with fiance Andrew Riley, right, at Reid Park on Oct. 1, 2016. Hosted by Lucinda Holliday and Tempest DuJour, the festival featured live entertainment, food trucks, vendor booths and a jumping castle and face painting for the kids.
That feeling of unity, coming together for a common cause and showing support for the community, was at the crux of 蜜柚直播 Pride when it was first organized in 1977. Unlike other pride events nationwide that commemorate New York's watershed 1969 Stonewall Riots, 蜜柚直播 Pride was born of an issue closer to home聽鈥 the 1976 murder of Richard Heakin, a young gay man killed by a group of teens as he was leaving the Stonewall Tavern. His attackers, tried as youthful offenders, were given probation after being found "delinquent" of manslaughter, according to published reports from that time.
蜜柚直播 Lesbian and Gay Alliance, commonly known as 蜜柚直播 Pride, sprang out of that incident in 1977, becoming the state's first established LGBTQ organization. The all-volunteer group put on its first Pride Festival that June in Himmel Park; it's a tradition that has continued every year since, with the exception of being canceled in 2020 and 2021 courtesy the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Together We Rise" kicks off Friday, Sept. 29, with the annual , presented by . Grand Marshall Lavina Tomer, a longtime 蜜柚直播 LGBTQ advocate and founder of the SAAF Anti-Violence Project, will be flanked by fellow members on the parade route.
The parade, expected to last an hour, starts at 7:30 p.m. from the staging area at South Stone Avenue and East 15th Street before going north on Stone, turning east across Ochoa/12th Street and south on Sixth Avenue to Armory Park. See the route .
蜜柚直播 Pride Festival is a chance for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate and for the community to show its support, organizers said.
The festival is from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park, , off East 22nd Street and South Country Club Road. Food trucks will be set up and beer and liquor vendors will be on hand. VIP ticketholders ($100 in advance, $150 at the gate) can hang out in the air-conditioned VIP tent. Bookmans is hosting a youth activity area and vendors and exhibitors will be on hand.聽
Fulgham said this year's festival will have "a lot more to offer," with local makers showcasing their wares including a soap-maker and community organizations including SAAF hosting information booths to discuss community resources.
The Humane Society of Southern 蜜柚直播 will have adoptable pets on site and there will be a 360 photo booth not far from the gaming area, which will include life-size Jenga and Twister. There also will be a community stage for anyone brave enough to get up there and show off their talents, Fulgham said.
鈥淭his is for the whole community,鈥 he said, adding that he anticipates the festival will bring in between 5,000 and 7,500 people.
The DeMeester bandshell stage will come to life with performances by the AZ Swing Cats dance troupe; Lykiska Tribal Fusion Belly Dancing; 蜜柚直播 Folklorico Dance Company; Cirque Roots fire performance; and drag performances featuring Miss 蜜柚直播 Pride 2023 Lady Ashley and Mister 蜜柚直播 Pride 2023 Randy Wilde.
蜜柚直播 choirs Desert Voices and Reveille Gay Men鈥檚 Chorus also will perform.
Phoenix rapper Tiffany Padilla, who performs under the stage name Devilz Playground, is making her 蜜柚直播 Pride Festival debut this weekend.聽
The mainstage nighttime lineup includes 蜜柚直播 queer pop singer Stephen Lind and Phoenix hip-hop artist Devilz Playground 补苍诲听Nevada-based ABBA tribute band Abbacadabra, which is headlining the 2023 festival.
Festival tickets are $15 in advance, $20 day of. for more information.
The Club Pride official afterparty moves to Hotel Congress, ., from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, with DJs and performances on Congress's Plaza and Club Congress stages. The afterparty is 21-and-older and tickets are $12.36 through Hotel Congress's .
HighWire 蜜柚直播 at is hosting the official Pride weekend closeout party from 6-10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, featuring headliner Kennedy DavenPort aka "The Dancing Diva of Texas." DavenPort has been featured in "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "Rupaul鈥檚 Drag Race All Stars."
Allonna Dee will host and Onika Grande, Benaddiction and Gia Colby will be featured. Tickets are $30-$100 and can be purchased .