October 9, 2015 @ 6pm – Starts at 8th St. and 4th Ave
Over the past 15 years the Tucson Pride Parade has grown to become a central part of the Tucson Gay Pride celebration. 2014 promises to take the event to the next level! Pride on Parade will begin at Catalina Park on 2nd St. at 6:00 PM on Saturday, October 11th. We will proceed to 4th ave. and take a right, leading to our destination on 4th and 8th St.
The most important thing is to get involved. The focus of Pride on Parade is to allow everyone to be themselves, some come have a blast with us at the block party at the end of the parade!
Thats right, this year the Tucson Pride Parade has joined with Sky Bar to provide a Block Party from 7pm to 10pm. It’ll be the best place to grab a drink after the long parade march ; )
Pride In The Desert 2015
October 16, 2015 @ 12pm – Kino Sports Complex
Tucson Pride presents its 38th Annual LGBTQ Pride Festival . $50. VIP. Advance tickets can be bought on-line at http://tucsonpride.org/ Advance purchase tickets can be picked up at the will-call table at the entrance on the day of the event.
Pride 2015 After-Party
October 16th, 2015 @ 8pm – PlayGround Lounge
Come to the office Tucson Pride After-Party hosted by PlayGround Lounge. Enjoy the night on Tucson’s Largest Outdoor Bar Patio with great friends and custom Pride-Inspired cocktails.
Tucson is lucky enough to have two Gay Pride celebrations annually visit our fabulous community. The first Gay Pride occurs in June, which coincides with the Stonewall Rebellion and subsequent public demonstrations. The second Pride comes a bit later in the year. That time is finally upon us! Join us as we celebrate with two iconic events: Tucson Pride Parade and Pride in the Desert.
Pride Parade 2019
Tucson Pride Parade 2019
The Tucson Pride Parade has a long, rich history in our community. This year will watch the procession proceed from Broadway / Craycroft and head towards Reid Park, where we will meet up with the festival.
I am so happy Tucson Pride decided to hold the Pride Parade immediately before the festival. The parade used to be organized on the night before, while allowed for some fantastic after-parties, it meant the two events were disunited from each other with little overlap. By having one naturally lead into the other, the Pride Parade and the festival will have increased synergy and provide an even better representation of our amazing community!
Pride in the Desert (or Park) has always been the flagship event of Tucson Pride weekend. Featuring hilarious hosts, marvelous musical performances and fantastic shows, Pride in the Desert truly has something for everyone. There are adorable shops with Pride souvenirs and phenomenal fashion vendors to get you looking your best. It is a wonderfully welcoming, safe space for everyone to be themselves and have a blast!
Retro Game Show Night is a hilarious event held every 2nd Saturday at Hotel Congress. Hosted by Tempest DuJour, Retro Game Show Night takes a fun new spin on old game shows from the 80’s and 90’s. Complete with high-quality lighting and stage setup, you become fully immersed in the event and will howl and laugh along with the rest of the audience. Feeling brave? Enter your name to become a contestant to win some amazing prizes! Check the Calendar for the next event and join GayTucson.com on the 2nd Saturday of each month for Retro Game Show Night at Hotel Congress!
Be Sure to Celebrate Bisbee Gay Pride Later This Month, June
Every year on Father’s Day weekend, the Arizona LGBT community and Straight Allies gather in the adorable little town of Bisbee to celebrate their pride. Come along with me on one such adventure, and be sure to catch the next incarnation of Bisbee Gay Pride!
When and Where is Bisbee Gay Pride?
Get to Bisbee by driving South on I-10 and taking a right on Highway 80 in Benson. From Tucson, it’s a little over 1.5 hours, 47 if you’re coming from Benson. Gay Pride Weekend corresponds with Father’s Day Weekend, occurring on the third weekend in June. It may seem like a long way to go, but a bunch of your friends from Tucson will be there and it really is one of the better parties of the year!
What Can I Expect at Bisbee Gay Pride?
There are so many things to do and ways to celebrate in Bisbee and the surrounding area, but what follows is my tried-and-true method for having a great time at Bisbee Gay Pride. We call this The Move.
The Move starts at a quaint little bed and breakfast on Friday night. Try the Copper Queen Hotel or the Bisbee Grand, you’ll love either place. I highly recommend locating yourself around the Main St. part of town. That is where all the action is and you don’t want to have to drive back to your hotel room after a full night of partying. The drunken stumble back to your bed is a quintessential part of The Move.
What’s Next For The Move?
The Move is to then walk the crowded, action-packed streets, observing the myriad booths and vendors set up for the weekend. The streets fill up on both Friday and Saturday with live music, so be sure to get your groove on! The town blocks off the roads from car access around the Copper Queen, so begin there and meet up with all of your friends.
The next Move is to head across the street to the Underground Dance Party. I would tell you where to go, but it’s better for you to just head down and discover for yourself. Dance to some high-energy dance music and have a few cocktails, powering you up for what’s next!
The Move then takes you on a club crawl, guided by a drag queen carrying a high heel on a stick. You’ll be heading from bar to bar, effectively getting a crash course in Downtown Bisbee. As you reach the end of the pubs, the MC will organize the flock into a Drag Race.
No, not the type you’re thinking of, this race consists of your drunken friends, wearing dresses and high heels, and running up a small hill. Cue the ankle tape and the ice packs! It’s a hilarious time for all involved and will truly punctuate your time at Bisbee Gay Pride.
See You Next Year!
Still not convinced? Bisbee Gay Pride is an awesome time with your best friends in a wonderful little town. There are some fun activities that I have never seen anywhere else, making Bisbee Gay Pride a one-of-a-kind event. It’s just a short drive South to have an amazing weekend and you’ll even see Darren and I on the club crawl. See you next year!
Now that we’ve had a few days to recover, I wanted to take some time and recap the incredible 2016 Gay Pride Weekend! First of all, thanks needs to go out to the Tucson Pride Planning Board for serving up a fantastic slate of fun and meaningful events for this years celebration. Let’s set them up for next year by donating today! Be sure to head back here after you’re done 🙂 Fun Photos below.
Now that we have the business out of the way, we can get to the fun! Lets start at the top:
Pride Friday Night
We have long held the Tucson Gay Pride Parade on the Friday before Tucson Pride, but that and a possible Block Party was the extent of the festivities for the night. This year was completely flipped on its head! Not only did we have the Tucson staple, Pride on Parade, but we were also treated to a host of events geared around the Gay Pride theme. The night went like this:
G3Pride Party During Tucson’s Gay Pride Weekend
G3Pride
Between the hours of 5 – 7, the Hut hosted Pete Kings infamous G3Pride Party! With great drink specials, pulse-pounding music and delicious dinner options, it was a fantastic way to start Pride Friday Night!
Pride On Parade
The Hut was also the perfect spot to enjoy a cocktail and cheer on the Tucson Pride on Parade as it proceeded down 4th Avenue. With more floats and participants than ever, this year’s parade was truly a celebration of our amazing spirit and diversity. I didn’t get any photos, but send us your pics today and I’ll post them on this page!
Rainbow Block Party
After the Parade, everyone headed over to RBAR for the Rainbow Block Party. If you’ve never been to RBAR, it’s a decadent little hole in the wall next to the Rialto Theatre with some of the best drinks in Tucson. The Rainbow Block Party featured a killer DJ spinning some great dance tunes, perfect for setting the stage for what came next.
Pride at the Rialto
The entire night built up to this moment, and Pride at the Rialto surely didn’t disappoint. Meticulously planned and flawlessly executed, Pride at the Rialto had something for everyone. We were entertained by the stars of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, as hilarious as they were gorgeous, who came all the way from Hollywood to share their own unique brand of Pride. The drinks were delightful, the food was delicious, and the show was divine; a wonderful capstone for a wonderful night!
Pride in the Park
With the stage set, it was time for Tucson’s Gay Pride flagship, Pride in the Park, to step into the spotlight. It was better than I had even expected!
I’d like to begin with a shout out to our amazing community! We were fun and rowdy but always respectful and everyone, every single person that I’ve spoken with had an excellent time. How many events can you say that about?
A Huge Crowd In Front of the Gay Pride Stage at Pride in the Park
And did I mention the size of the crowd? By the time I was there, they had already admitted over 4,000 Tucsonans and the line was growing by the second. This was the most well-frequented Tucson Gay Pride I have been to in many years and I love Tucson for being so supportive and kind.
The event itself was a marvel of crowd and performer synergy as it seemed every act built upon the previous and the entire presentation wove a tapestry of precious moments that I will never forget. Everyone, from the excellent DJ’s to the talented singers and presenters was in top form and the crowd repeatedly roared its approval.
Me and Tempest DuJour Loving Tucson Pride in the Park 2016
Now, I might be a little biased, but the pinnacle of the event, atleast for me, had to be Tempest DuJour. Tempest is a world renowned performer whom hails from Tucson, so the event had to be extra special. We were given a small sample of his many talents and he left the audience starving for more. Be sure to get your Tempest DuJour fix by checking out Retro Game Night!
The Wrap-Up
If you didn’t have a chance to join us for Tucson Pride this year, you owe yourself to mark it on your calendar and come out next year. This was the largest and most well-planned Tucson Pride event I have been to in a long time, and I used to plan them back in the day 😉 The Tucson Pride Board of Directors has set a high bar for themselves and I am excited to see what they have in store for us next year! Thanks for reading!
Tony Ray
Tucson Pride is no stranger to incredible performances. Who can forget about last year’s amazing concert from Velo, or the time we brought in Margaret Cho? I almost died laughing! Pride Weekend is always full of fantastic performers, but this year is on a different level. Our friends at Tucson Pride have scheduled a full slate of incredible singers, dancers, DJ’s, and other entertainers. But the headline of the show has to be when Johnathan Celestin Performs Live at Tucson Pride 2018!
It’s Hard Not to Fall in Love with Johnathan Celestin
Meet Johnathan Celestin
I had the fortune of speaking with Johnathan Celestin last week and we got to speaking about his upcoming performance at Tucson Pride 2018. Beyond being an engaging person, Johnathan is an incredible singer with a host of self-written singles and EPs.
What I found most enthralling about Johnathan is his warmth and kindness. He regularly participates in community involvement and his music is an inspiring call-to-action to treat each other better. In one of his singles, Be-You-tiful, he sings about peer violence and bullying. In fact, this popular song became the theme for a major anti-bullying campaign!
Check out the rest of Johnathan’s fantastic videos on the Johnathan Celestin YouTube Channel. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Johnathan’s message of self-reflection and loving each other definitely resonates with me, and I’m sure it will touch everyone when Johnathan Celestin Performs Live at Tucson Pride 2018!
The Most Exciting Tucson Pride in Years!
I can’t describe how excited I am for Tucson Pride 2018! The Georges DeMeester Performance Center is the perfect venue for one out-of-this-world party! The entire event will be emceed by inimitable local Tucsonans. They have a full slate of wonderful talent, headlined by the coolest guy you haven’t yet met, Johnathan Celestin. The only thing missing is you, so be sure to grab your tickets today and be ready for what promises to be the best event of the year!
Have a great day!
Tony Ray 🙂
