Organizers of PrideFest 2023 expect more than 300,000 people to flood downtown St. Louis this weekend for the two-day event, which culminates in a parade Sunday afternoon.
The festival is the best-attended celebration of LGBTQ communities in St. Louis. It will include hundreds of vendors and nonprofit organizations, plus a lineup of performers topped by Kat Graham and Betty Who on Saturday, followed by Idina Menzel and Cece Peniston on Sunday.
Other performers include the Gateway Men’s Chorus, the St. Louis Drag Revue and Divas of the Grove.
The event comes after a recent wave of legislation supported by Republican lawmakers that targets LGBTQ people, and trans people in particular.
“With the context of how things are going right now, people are very scared or are nervous,” said Morgan Morris, secretary of Pride St. Louis, which organizes PrideFest. “The idea for this event is that we can help people see other people that are them, or at least get them connected to like-minded people. We want there to be more visibility. The idea is to empower.”
Hate crimes against LGBTQ people are on the rise nationally. Sexual orientation is the second most-common motivation for hate crimes committed in Missouri as of 2021 — followed by race and ethnicity — according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice.
A brunch featuring a drag performer at Bar K in St. Louis was disrupted last weekend when someone started booing and interfering with the event, said attendee Randy Rafter.
“They were basically causing a scene because people were just being who they are and representing their part of their community,” said Rafter, president and CEO of Black Pride St. Louis, which describes itself as the second-oldest U.S. support group for LGBTQ people who are Black.
“Even though we're a strong community and a strong people, it still gets under your skin sometimes to see that hatred for someone just because they're being who they are,” Rafter said.
Members of Black Pride St. Louis will march in Sunday’s parade.
This month, Gov. Mike Parson signed into law measures passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that restrict transgender minors from accessing certain forms of health care, and block transgender athletes from participating on school sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. A January compilation of info by the Americans Civil Liberties Union found that Missouri led the nation in bills under consideration that target LGBTQ rights.
Officials in St. Louis and St. Louis County have taken steps to support transgender people. An executive order that St. Louis Mayor Tishuara Jones signed last month will establish new practices in city government “to be more inclusive of diverse gender identities,” Jones said. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen and St. Louis County Council passed resolutions this year pledging support for gender-affirming care, a broad category of health care including mental health support.
“The hate is cyclical,” said Jordan Braxton, a longtime LGBTQ advocate, drag performer and board member of Pride St. Louis. She said she’s seen different waves of anti-LGBTQ intolerance since her days working to combat the spread of HIV in the 1980s. “It kind of died down a little bit, but now it ramped up again,” Braxton said.
PrideFest 2023 will feature additional security this year, Braxton said, but she expects it to be safe for all attendees.
“We just keep telling people, please come to Pride. Please be safe. And we’ve got your back,” Braxton said.
St. Louis has a robust lineup of events this year celebrating LGBTQ pride. PrideFest 2023 will be followed by a gathering Monday evening at City Hall, to feature awards for leaders in the LGBTQ community and performances by Po Mia and Akasha Royale.
The first weekend of August will include a series of events organized by Black Pride St. Louis. Tower Grove Pride, another signature gathering, will bring thousands of visitors to Tower Grove Park in September.
