Washington Pride Festival set to happen in June
Organizers of Washington鈥檚 inaugural Pride festival are hoping the third time will be the charm.
Originally scheduled to happen in 2020, it was put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then called off again in 2021 as the pandemic lumbered on. However, with vaccines having gone in many more arms over the last 12 months and restrictions falling away, the celebration of the region鈥檚 LGBTQA community is now set for Saturday, June 11, starting at noon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time coming,鈥� said Tyler Bogden, the co-chair of the festival and the vice chairman of the Washington County Gay Straight Alliance. 鈥淚t鈥檚 full steam ahead on this one.鈥�
The festival will unfold at Washington鈥檚 Main Street Community Pavilion at 139 S. Main St., and have musicians and DJs performing through the day. The headliner is the band Transviolet, an alternative rock band based in California that has released three EPs and three singles, and has had one of their songs featured in the Netflix series 鈥淯nbelievable.鈥� Also on the bill are Chicago singer-songwriter Steve Grand, Pittsburgh DJs Admc and DJ Petey C. Drag, and ballroom performers are also set to appear.
Pride festivals have long been fixtures of large metropolitan areas, and Pittsburgh鈥檚 annual Pride celebration is set for the first weekend in June. To the best of Bodgen鈥檚 knowledge, this is the first time one of Pittsburgh鈥檚 suburban or exurban communities has had a Pride festival. Organizers want to provide 鈥渢hat inclusive space for the attendees to feel proud and safe.鈥�
He added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud of being given the opportunity to do this and bring this to Washington and celebrate diversity and just have a big celebration.鈥�
Go online to washpapride.com for additional information.