Charlotte Pride, a local non-profit organization which creates programs and activities to enrich, empower, strengthen and make visible the unique lives and experiences of LGBTQ people in Charlotte and the Carolinas, will hold its annual Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade in Uptown Charlotte, Aug. 26-27.
This year, the organization is celebrating record growth for its Bank of America Charlotte Pride Parade, which has now become the largest parade in Charlotte — LGBTQ or otherwise. In 2016, the parade attracted a similar number of entrants, floats and individual marchers as Charlotte’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, which bills itself as the largest parade in the Southeast. This year, the Bank of America Charlotte Pride Parade has grown from approximately 120 entrants to 152 entrants, from approximately 20 floats to 40 floats and from approximately 3,500 individual marchers to 4,500.
This year’s growth marks an historic turning point for Charlotte Pride and the local LGBTQ community. In 2013, the current iteration of Charlotte Pride began as a new, independent non-profit organization with a $100 loan from a board member and a cash advance from a longtime sponsor. That same year, the board decided to bring back an LGBTQ Pride Parade to the Queen City after a nearly 20 year absence. In just four short years, a small, but dedicated team of board members and core volunteers have grown the parade from an uncertain but passionate idea to become the largest parade in Charlotte — and, arguably, in the Carolinas.
“I joined the Charlotte Pride board when our event hosted only 27,000 visitors in 2012,” said Craig Hopkins, president of the Charlotte Pride Board of Directors. “Words cannot describe the amount of hard work and dedication that has been poured into this event by countless volunteers, growing us to 130,000 visitors over the course of the weekend last year and, now, to the largest parade in Charlotte.”
The Bank of America Charlotte Pride Parade will be held on Sunday, Aug. 27, 1-3 p.m. It will occur during the two-day Charlotte Pride Festival in the PNC Bank Festival Zone, Sat., Aug. 26-Sun., Aug. 27. On both days, national and local entertainers will take to the Wells Fargo Stage, including headliner Deborah Cox, a Grammy Award nominated, multi-platinum R&B/Pop recording artist.
Since 2015, the event has contributed more than $19 million in local economic impact from out-of-town visitors, including $11.5 million in direct visitor spending and $699,000 in county taxes raised by visitor spending, according to economic impact reports conducted by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
The annual festival and parade represent the single-largest fundraisers for Charlotte Pride each year. Funds raised by the events support a variety of year-round community programs, including Charlotte Latin Pride, Reel Out Charlotte (formerly known as the GayCharlotte Film Festival) and the organization’s new Charlotte Pride Scholarship for LGBTQ and straight ally high school and college students.
For more information about the event and the organization, visit charlottepride.org. For the most up-to-date information on the event, street closures, other logistics and latest media releases, visit the Charlotte Pride Media Center at charlottepride.org/media/.
