Last year’s Pride march and festival saw a record number of attendees. If the weather cooperates, organizers anticipate that Pride 2024 will see even more participants — and that growth comes with more opportunities to celebrate, connect and demand action.
“Pride is getting bigger. What is that telling you about the power of our community?” said Tyrell Brown, executive director of Galaei, who organizes Philadelphia’s Pride festivities alongside other team members at Galaei and Philly Pride 365.
At last year’s Pride march, marchers carried a 200-foot Pride flag through the streets of the city before the festival began. The intent was for everyone to take part in carrying and displaying the flag — but there wasn’t enough space for each person to grab hold.
This year, organizers will debut America’s largest Pride flag, which stretches to 400 feet long.
“There’s plenty of space for everyone to hold on and join in,” said Brown, who noted that the flag — like last year — will be displayed during the June 2 Pride March which snakes around Philadelphia’s streets before the festival begins.
“It is a beautiful representation of the kind of unity and solidarity that I think people’s goals are pushing toward,” they said. “And having that snake its way through the city to the Gayborhood really does say to a lot of people that Philadelphia is a city that is affirming or welcoming and has its own goals of being a city that represents all of us, that serves all of us.”
On May 31, the record-breaking flag will tour the city’s neighborhoods — stopping in eight different surprise locations, offering the opportunity for people across Philadelphia to see and feel history in the making. Attendees can take part in the event, called Pride Around the City, by showing up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 9 a.m., the city’s Pride flag-raising ceremony at City Hall at noon, in the Gayborhood at 8 p.m., or at various times throughout the day in other locations.
Brown said the flag is a tangible beacon of hope, visibility, and solidarity that many people need to see right now given the political tension and physical threats against the LGBTQ+ community.
Given safety concerns after warnings of potential attacks, Brown noted that people might feel confused about whether or not they should stay home or come to events. They said those interested in Pride events should ask themselves whether or not they feel safe and comfortable attending.
“People need to be cognizant and aware because of this political environment that we’re living in right now,” they said, adding that this kind of backlash is one of the reasons Pride is so important.
“For me, Pride is a resource festival at its heart and at its core,” Brown stated, explaining that the event helps people get connected to services, care and community they might not otherwise have access to. Various LGBTQ+ centered organizations will be present, and navigators will help attendees receive on-site testing, set up future appointments, and get linked with counselors or other community resources.
Brown noted that Pride “is a call to unity as a means to come together to achieve those things that we richly deserve.” They asked people to join in the celebration with a spirit of generosity and creativity and to grant themselves agency to build the iterations of Pride that don’t yet exist that they need to see for themselves and others.
This is how Brown and others collaborated to bring new aspects of the festival to life — by recognizing whose needs were currently unmet and considering how to better serve those groups of people.
This year’s festival will offer newly emerging spaces — including dedicated areas that honor and connect sapphics and those in sobriety. Organizers also hope to better support disabled people — including those who need accessible bathrooms, to charge electronics, and to decompress or seek a break from sensory overload.
There will also be a dedicated space to learn about and honor LGBTQ+ history with this year focusing on the 55th anniversary of Stonewall.
Brown said there was demand for more interactive elements — so this year’s event will feature a space curated with fitness and sports in mind, with playful activities adults can engage with.
The expanded footprint (which now includes Pine St.) allows for more than 200 small businesses and organizations to be present, including vendors, artists, food trucks, and more.
The festival’s first ever headliner, Sapphira Cristál — a beloved Philadelphia drag queen who recently competed and placed second in season 16 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — will perform on the main stage. Various other local performers and entertainers will contribute to a full day of entertainment on numerous stages throughout the festival grounds.
Although Pride is a time to bring celebrations into the streets, it’s also a weekend of scheduled parties at partnering venues who are hosting both formal and informal events.
One of those parties is the official opening night event — Pride Promenade, a formal dance that will kickoff the weekend with a night of dancing and performances by Philly queer icons. The prom will also serve as a fundraiser for Galaei’s homecoming dance for LGBTQ+ youth, which will take place in fall.
“Many of us didn’t get to really experience our prom years — or didn’t like it because you were hiding your identity, so we didn’t get to be free and enjoy liberated fashion while celebrating our prom years,” Brown said. “So we’re like, let’s create an adult prom for the opening event to give us that back.”
Brown underlined that while organizers attempted to create events that would cater to the diverse needs of a vast and varying community, Pride is very personal — and some might choose not to participate in the festival or other public events. They emphasized that no matter how anyone chooses to spend the weekend, it will be Pride if their choices reflect their authenticity.
Brown underlined that Philly’s Pride weekend is just one of many in the area. They encouraged people to attend other events — especially in the suburbs — to connect with more LGBTQ+ people and support more initiatives that benefit the community.
“This is about creating a beacon of light that says, ‘This is home, and you are welcome.’” they said. “But this is one event in Philadelphia. We have 29 other days in June and 364 days of the rest of the year.”
The weekend at a glance:
May 31 – Pride Around the City @ Various locations (9 a.m.-8 p.m.)
May 31 – Happy Hour @ The Cauldron (4:30-6:30 p.m.)
May 31 – Science After Hours: Summer Ball @ The Franklin Institute (7:30 p.m.-midnight)
May 31 – After parties @ Woody’s (7 p.m.-2 a.m.), Voyeur (11 p.m.-3:20 a.m.)
June 1 – SipCity Pride on the Water @ Liberty Point (5-11 p.m.)
June 1 – Pride Promenade @ The Philadelphia Museum of Art (8 p.m.-midnight)
June 1 – After parties @ Woody’s (7 p.m. to 2 a.m.), Voyeur (10 p.m.-5 a.m.)
June 2 – “Be You” March @ 6th and Walnut, 10:30 a.m.
June 2 – Pride Festival @ Walnut to Pine Streets & Quince to Juniper Streets (noon-7 p.m.)
June 2 – Block parties @ Woody’s (Noon to 7 p.m.), Voyeur (5 p.m.-3:20 a.m.)
June 2 – Sapphira Cristal performs @ the festival’s Muses stage (6 p.m.)