Things will look different at 2022 Philly Pride Festival and March

Organizers, led by community leaders of color, aimed to build a more inclusive festival

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After 50 years of celebrations, Philly Pride has been reimagined and will look very different this year.

“We, as a queer community, own Pride,” said Ashley Coleman, executive director of GALAEI and a key part of the new PHL Pride Collective.

She is one of several LGBTQ community leaders of color who said past celebrations were organized by a small group that didn’t reflect the city's diversity.

That’s where the collective stepped in.

PHL Pride Collective is driven by collective members who are all community activists and leaders,” she said. Coleman added that Pride month was born from activism that called for equality and change.

Philadelphia’s Pride parades and festivals began in 1972, three years after the Stonewall riots in New York helped launch the LGBTQ rights movement. Philly Pride Presents hosted Pride events in the city until last year when it disbanded after concerns of racism and transphobia.

“We have an entire month that we should be celebrating, marching and talking to our legislators, making sure the changes that need to be made for our community are being made,” Coleman said.

She said the Pride March and Festival will be more inclusive, starting with a sober space, hosted by Writer's Block Rehab, serving mocktails, and a low-sensory zone for people with disabilities.

“We’ve expanded youth and family, video game trucks and bounce houses, a space for babies,” Coleman said.

“We’ll have a full stage, and robust performances, DJs and dancefloors. Our sober stage is probably going to be the most lit out of every space in the festival, which is so exciting.”

It starts Sunday at noon in the Gayborhood, following a march from Independence Mall at 11 a.m.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Hadas Kuznits