Indy Pride Festival, formerly Circle City IN Pride, is the annual
week of LGBT pride events in
Indianapolis. The week is organized by
LGBT organization
Indy Pride, Inc., and has been held under this name and organization for over a decade. In recent years, more than 95,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual people have attended the festival.[1] Indy Pride's Parade and Festival is held the 2nd Saturday in June, with a week of events leading up to it, in honor of the
Stonewall Riots and in accordance with other United States pride festivals. Indy Pride Festival is the largest LGBT pride event in Indiana.[2]
According to former
Indy Pride President, Gary Brackett, "The festival and events are to celebrate gay pride and bring the community together. We're trying to bring visibility to the greater Indianapolis community of how many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people there are here."[3]
History
The first known Pride week in Indianapolis was celebrated in 1976 with the support of Metropolitan Community Church and Gay Peoples Union.[4] However, the first
Indy Pride, Inc., sponsored event began in 1996 as a week-long celebration of events. Jeffrey Cleary and Bill McKinley served as Co-Chairs for the city's first ever pride week.[5] The celebration held 10 events in seven days, culminating with a pride fair on the downtown Indy Canal.[6] In 2011, the festival broke records by attracting a record estimate 70,000 attendees.[1] In 2012, the week of events opened with the new "Rainbow 5k Run/Walk".[7] The festival saw the addition of a 2nd stage, as well as an expansion in family-friendly entertainment.[8] Attendance grew every year in the following decade until 2020 and 2021 when the event was not held in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
Indy Pride Parade
The first Indy Pride Parade stepped off in 2002, founded by Gary Brackett. The first parade was small with only eight participants and lasted 15 minutes. It has since grown into a 2-hour-plus-long event.[3]
Anti-Pride protests and opposition
In a 2016 interview, Gary Brackett acknowledged that a few protestors oppose the event every year. According to Brackett, both the crowd and the anti-Pride protestors have received police protection.[10]
Festival
The festival includes several attractions for the LGBT community and allies, to browse and watch. Local
LGBT groups and supportive businesses sponsor booths catering to the community as a whole, as well as special interest groups. Surrounding the park, food vendors and other businesses also set up displays to show support and to market to the community. The main stage overlooks the event and serves as a centerpiece for the festival. National and local talents provide performances from the stage. Performances have included the
Pride of Indy Band, singers, national recording artists, drag performances, DJs, and speeches.
Performances have ranged from pure entertainment, such as
RuPaul who performed at the close of the festival in 2006 and
Kat DeLuna who performed in 2009, to informational speeches, such as from
Candace Gingrich, who in 2007, gave a speech for the
Human Rights Campaign on
same-sex marriage issues.[3][11][12] In 2012, the festival added a 2nd stage dedicated to DJs and dance music, as well as an area designated for family friendly entertainment.[8]
2013 marked the 25th year of Indy's public LGBT Pride celebration.
The annual parade began in 2002, and runs from
Mass Ave, which is the city's unofficial
gayborhood, to the heart of
downtown Indianapolis.[citation needed] Parade grand marshals have included celebrities and politicians, including the late congresswoman
Julia Carson. The parade grew to more than 100 floats and participants by 2009.[16]
2014: Coburn "Coby" Palmer (one of the original Indy Bag Ladies),
Layshia Clarendon, point guard for the
Indiana Fever, Megan Roberson of Freedom Indiana, and Rick Sutton of Indiana Equality Action for their efforts in the law arena.[25]
2022: Trans Solutions Research & Resource Center, GenderNexus,
ACLU of Indiana,
Indianapolis City-County Council members Zach Adamson, Ali Brown, Ethan Evans, and Keith Potts[31]