Denver PrideFest’s 50th anniversary will takeover Civic Center Park Saturday, Sunday

DENVER (KDVR) — It’s time to prepare your rainbow best for Denver PrideFest, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend in the Mile High City. The event is slated for Saturday and Sunday, with hundreds of thousands of attendees at Civic Center Park.

The annual event is the Center on Colfax’s largest fundraiser, annually raising over $1 million to help LGBTQ organizations in the Denver and Colorado region. This year’s event celebrates its origins from 1974, celebrating icons that helped shape PrideFest into the celebration it is now.

How to get to the festival

PrideFest is a two-day celebration on Saturday, June 22 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., continuing on Sunday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Civic Center Park, located at the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and Broadway.

Parking is limited downtown. The festival’s website suggests reserving a spot beforehand on the Denver PrideFest Parking Page, where spots were still available as of Monday for around $7-15.

For attendees who are biking or taking another mode of transportation to the park, make sure to have a plan before arrival to store that transportation device. The festival website states that Denver police will remove items chained to the festival’s temporary fences.

Events and entertainment

Pride weekend starts with a 5K on Saturday along with the festival at Civic Center Park, which will have over 250 exhibitors, 30 food vendors and several live performances like critically acclaimed drag queen Pattie Gonia as well as Alyssa Edwards and Shea Couleé.

On Sunday, there will be a parade with colorful floats and music. Full listings of Center Stage headliners, DJs and performances at the Latin Stage are listed on the website. There’s also a schedule for the family area which includes activities like button making, a parachute storytime and a dance party.

The festival map showing gate entrances, vendors and more can be found on the festival‘s app.

There are many safety measures in play for the weekend as well. On factory-sealed beverages or empty containers will be allowed inside the PrideFest area, and all bags and containers are subject to search by security. No unicycles or other similar items will be allowed inside as well. A full list of the festival’s rules is available online here.

The website also notes that by being at the festival, attendees consent to having their picture and video taken and used by The Center on Colfax.