Milwaukee Pride Announces ‘PridetoberFest’

Milwaukee Pride announced that it will be hosting “PridetoberFest,” a scaled back version of PrideFest, in early October.

The Pride festival will run October 8 and 9. It will occupy a smaller footprint of Henry Maier Festival Park (200 N. Harbor Dr.) than the most recent June festival.

PrideFest is usually held over four days on the first weekend in June and serves informally (along with the Locust Street Festival) as the kick-off to Milwaukee’s summer festival season. The last two June festivals were cancelled due health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to bridge the gap between recent summers and what we expect will be a fully open and back to normal 2022,” said Wes Shaver, president of Milwaukee Pride, in a release.

In the absence of a June PrideFest, the city implemented a number of initiatives intended to increase the visibility of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community, including a bus and streetcar with rainbow designs. The health & wellness area from PrideFest was transitioned into a virtual directory in response to the event’s cancellation.

The month of June is nationally observed as Pride month, honoring the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City that triggered the beginning of a modern movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against the LGBTQ+ community. October also has significance for the LGBTQ+ community.

“October is LGBTQ+ history month along with National Coming Out Day,” said Luke Olson, Milwaukee Pride vice president. “What better moment to gather and reflect on the long journey that got us to this point – and of course, to celebrate!”

The volunteer-led festival will run from 3 p.m. to midnight on Friday and noon to midnight on Saturday. Tickets and entertainment lineups will be available in late July or early August.

Updated information will continue to be available on the PrideFest website or Facebook page.

Photos from PrideFest