PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As Pride Month quickly approaches, Philly Pride 365 organizers have rolled out new details of what they say will be a weekend for the record books.
This year’s festival marks the 50th anniversary of the executive order making Pennsylvania the first state to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ state employees.
Jeremy Williams, event producer for this year’s Pride Weekend, said he’s marching to the party with purpose, with a Progress Pride flag large enough to set the tone for what he described as the biggest and brightest Philly Pride to date.
“We went from 400 feet of a Pride flag to 600 feet of a pride flag,” said Williams.
The festivities begin Friday, May 30 with Pride Around the City, as marchers carry the flag to designated points across Philly.
“Pride should be, step out with your community and stand up with your community,” he said.
On Saturday, the main event is the Pride Promenade and L.U.V — or Legacy Unity Visibility — Awards at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Sunday begins with the Pride March at 10:30 a.m., starting at Sixth and Walnut streets before ending in the Gayborhood for the festival. “Six stages all day Sunday,” said Williams, “but it all starts with the reverential, protest-oriented march.”
Those six stages will be filled with entertainment, including the throwback-oriented Legacy zone and the Unity zone, featuring drag and cabaret performances, as well as the dance-focused Visibility zone and the all-ages Everyone zone.
Williams said it will all culminate in a party on the Sweat stage. “The Sweat stage is where everything gets turned up with the main event and Jason Bowman doing Kiki Alley and ballroom stuff. It’s all over the Gayborhood,” he said.
“This isn’t slowing down. This is the snowball that’s just gonna keep gathering rainbow dust.”