Rhode Island PrideFest and Illuminated Night Parade is back! On Saturday, June 18, the events are returning to the Creative Capital after a two-year pause due to the pandemic. Well-known traditional programming will be back, including the vendor exhibition area, community resource hub, mainstage entertainment and much more. The vendor and community resource hub will consist of over 200 companies, food trucks and nonprofit organizations supplying much-needed support to the LGBTQIA+ community. Mainstage entertainment will have a variety of drag performers and vocalists from the RI and New England queer community. Multiple queer bars and clubs in downtown PVD are planning block parties after the Illuminated Night Parade to keep the fun going all night.
Although the programming will feel familiar, RI Pride is excited to announce that there will be a new location for PrideFest and a new route for the Illuminated Night Parade. RI PrideFest will be taking place throughout Innovation District Park, on the downtown side of the pedestrian bridge. Completed at the end of 2021, the seven-acre waterfront greenspace sits in the middle of PVD’s growing innovation and design district and will expand the amount of space for PrideFest and its attendees.
The Illuminated Night Parade will also be following a new route. Traditionally the parade started on Dorrance St, went past City Hall and down Washington St, then looped around to Weybosset St where it would end in front of PPAC. This year, it will march to a different drummer, down Washington Street in the opposite direction, crossing Dorrance St and coming down Weybosset St to end in front of PPAC. The parade will still have the same visibility as previous years with a different pathway through downtown PVD.
This year’s theme underscores the importance of community coming together, especially after the weight of the pandemic on all of us. This year’s theme is appropriately titled: Together Again!
Sponsor, parade and vendor registration is still active, and organizations are encouraged to sign-up.
The full event will run from noon to 9:30 pm on June 18.
Details on PrideFest 2022 can be found at prideri.org
