Celebrate Phoenix Pride at annual festival

Oct. 17

The annual Phoenix Pride Festival will be taking place this weekend from October 21 to 22. The festival will offer live music, food, and merchandise.

For more on the 42nd annual Phoenix Pride Festival, we welcomed Jeremy M. Helfgot from J.M. Helfgot Communications.

The celebration is raising funds for local LGBTQ+ programs and is drawing awareness to the community’s ongoing civil rights issues. The festival is a two-day celebration taking place at Steele Indian School Park.

“We’re coming together to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, its culture, and the pride movement here in Arizona which, as you say, has been active for more than four decades. It’s a celebratory atmosphere. We’re bringing the community together for entertainment, for food, for fun, for a wonderful crowd and to celebrate the successes we’ve had in fighting for rights and equality,” Helfgot said.

They’re expecting more than 50,000 people throughout the weekend and more than 10,000 spectators at the parade.

The first pride march in Arizona took place in 1981. It has since grown into a massive event welcoming all to celebrate pride. Corporations, vendors, government officials, and more come together to make this festival possible. The festival is hosting over 150 performances on seven stages, in addition to a special VIP area with its own entertainment.

“We have incredible partners in the business community, both locally and nationally, who really make these events possible,” Helfgot said. “We vet the organizations that we partner with to make sure that they’re not just writing a check once a year, but that they’re actively involved in supporting the community.”

This festival is also bringing awareness to the state of the LGBTQ+ community in the Phoenix area.

“We’ve seen an assault in recent years in terms of public policy attacking rights and attacking equality, particularly the transgender community and transgender youth have come under attack,” Helfgot said.

Tickets for the Phoenix Pride Festival can be purchased here.