The organizers of Pride announced this week that there will be an increase in the admission cost for the upcoming festival.
The charge for the June 8 festival at Penn’s Landing will be $15, as opposed to the previous $10, which it had been since 2002.
The money from admission supports rental of the property, insurance, equipment and payment to performers, among other costs, all of which have been on the rise, said Pride senior advisor Chuck Volz.
“The price of everything has been going up, particularly for entertainment,” Volz said. “We didn’t want to return to the bad old days where we were in debt. These are hard decisions and nobody wants to do it but we had to.”
Volz said any money left over after expenses is put toward seed money for OutFest in the fall.
“If we go into debt, we wouldn’t be able to do this anymore, so I hope everyone will understand. We’re not doing it to make a profit.”
Wristbands can still be purchased for $10 in advance at the kickoff block party June 6.
Volz said volunteers at the gate do have some flexibility with charging admission.
“If I’m selling wristbands and I see someone trying to pull together the money and they can’t, I have taken whatever they can give,” he said. “We don’t want to have to turn anyone away.”
The admission charge will get attendees access to the performances and the networking opportunities, among other offerings, Volz said.
“We have six hours of entertainment — you’re not going to get that elsewhere for $15. We have every community group. We have at least 30-40 vendors where you can buy things. We have a new sports area this year. There’s a ton of stuff to do, and the $15 payment is for a good cause.”