About:
The Champaign-Urbana Pride Fest is a program created and produced by Uniting Pride of Champaign County to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride in our local community. We held our first Pride Fest in 2010, and we're now 14 years strong!
June is the internationally recognized month of Pride, in honor of the Stonewall Uprising that took place the last weekend of June 1969, and the subsequent LGBTQ+ civil rights movement sparked by that turn of events. Uniting Pride loves to produce programming in June in celebration of the official Pride month, as do other community groups, organizations, or individuals.
​But we also know we're #QueerAllYear, not just during one month of it. And we believe this community deserves robust programming beyond just once a year, including at a time when most of our community members are here in town - the Fall. We choose to produce this special program at this time and invite the entire community to join us.
LGBTQ+ Pride programs should always be two things: a celebration of the progress we've made, and call to continued action for the work still to come. It is with that in mind that we design the programming we produce. Parties? Drag shows? A parade? Yes, absolutely! But also: education, a chance to gather in community and discuss important topics, and creating safe spaces where we know we won't be harassed or subjected to the hate and discrimination we face in our daily lives.
To our Allies:
Thank you for loving and supporting us! Thank you for coming to our events and programs! Thank you for celebrating and for learning! That absolutely matters and we love you for doing all of that! But another thing that could really show your true allyship is to work a volunteer shift. Help us make this massive program possible. Thank you in advance for all our allies who help us in this way! More information about specific volunteer opportunities coming soon!
To our LGBTQ+ Community:
Make sure you look at the full schedule! There's so much more than just the parade, fair, and weekend events! It's a FULL WEEK! There are so many ways to celebrate, to learn, to gather, and to show your pride. We absolutely deserve to be out and proud on the streets of the communities in which we live. So take this moment. Soak it up. Let it fuel you. The fight is extra hard right now, but we hope you know that you aren't alone in that fight. UP is here for you. So much of your community is here for you. You matter. You are loved. You are supported. And you are perfect exactly as you are.
