After postponing last year’s celebrations due to the pandemic, the Austin Pride Parade is returning to the city this August. With two years’ worth of celebrations to catch up on and a 30th anniversary to commemorate, the parade will bring the city’s LGBTQIA+ community together for the belated reunion it needs and deserves.
In a statement issued last summer, Austin Pride noted that the celebration first began 30 years ago during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which disproportionately affected the LGBTQIA+ community, especially people of color. The group said that although they were sad to postpone the event, they would stay strong as a community amidst the challenges.
“We will continue to show resilience in the face of adversity, solidarity through love and celebrate the spirit of pride,” the statement reads.
Where and When to Check Out the Austin Pride Parade
The Austin Pride Parade and Festival has been hitting the city since the 1990s, when it was first launched as the Gay and Lesbian Pride Fiesta. Last year was the first time in history the parade was cancelled, so the community is long overdue for some fun and good cheer.
Now that the pandemic is on its way out, Austin Pride is thrilled to be once again coming together in solidarity and celebrating in person. So, what’s on the schedule this year, and how can you get involved?
This year’s Austin Pride Parade will take place on August 14th at 8 p.m., but the fun and festivities will continue all week long from Monday, August 9th to Sunday, August 15th. Typically, the parade begins at the Texas State Capitol and continues down Congress Ave. before finishing in the city’s Warehouse District on Fourth St./Bettie Naylor St., but this year, the parade has been slightly rerouted to go past Fourth St. and finish further south.
Austin Pride Parade Will Be ‘Big, Bold and Proud’
“You probably noticed that the parade goes past 4th this year. The parade is big, that bold and that PROUD. This year, join us on 4th as the party continues,” the organization wrote in a recent Instagram caption about the upcoming parade.
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The parade is also usually accompanied by an all-day festival prior to the main event in the evening, but this year, the festival will not be taking place. Austin Pride says that while there is no festival this year, they will be returning to 100 percent of their usual festivities in 2022.
Each year, people from all over Austin including allies, students, performers and local organizations take part in the parade and all-day festival. There are typically plenty of floats, games, food and drinks, vendor booths, photo stations and live performances for people of all ages to enjoy. However, Austin Pride hasn’t released further details on this year’s parade or its theme.
Join the After Party
After the parade, parties and celebrations take place all over the city and at other local gay bars like Oilcan Harry’s and fourth & co. If you’re looking for more fun things to do in Austin, there will be an official after-party following the parade on Fourth St. at 9 p.m., which will take the form of a massive block party on the street that’s completely free and open to the public.
The event is organized by the Austin Gay and Lesbian Pride Foundation, a group dedicated to providing education, resources and connections to the LGBTQIA+ community in the city. Founded in 2010, the foundation is responsible for organizing Austin’s annual PRIDE Celebration and the Stonewall Rally, which commemorates the Stonewall Riots of the 1960s.
Austin Pride now has an app that can be used to book events, catch up on local news and more. You can also visit austinpride.org for more information or to register to participate in this year’s festivities.
