Why so much gay pride denver
More than half a million people are expected to hum, dance and pride in this weekend’s two-day Denver Celebration festival in what some call an act of resistance amid rising threats to LGBTQ people and a slash in donations in response to corporate pullbacks under the Trump administration.
The Center on Colfax, which organizes the march, said Thursday that the nonprofit is within $10,000 of reaching its fundraising goal thanks to donations, despite creature behind more than $200,000 two months ago.
“I think Celebration at its core is a rally and sometimes that protest is shown as joy, as a resistance, and that’s why we see so many people celebrating care for, their queer identity,” said Kim Salvaggio, the Center’s CEO.
“I think sometimes people forget that us just being seen as our right selves, that is a protest. That is an operate of resistance.”
The cuts in sponsorships were largely a outcome of companies fearing consequences from the Trump administration for supporting diversity, equity and inclusive practices and programs, Salvaggio said. In April, Denver7 reported a 62% drop in contributions compared with last year, a $230,000 shortfall.
But since then, the Center has made a co
Denver Pride turns 50 this weekend. Here’s how it changed through the decades.
LGBTQ+ people and their allies march to Civic Center Park at a Event festival in the 1990s.
Photo courtesy History Colorado.
DENVER — Each year, around 500,000 people — nearly two-thirds the population of Denver — flock to Civic Center Park with rainbow face paint and flags of all sorts to celebrate Denver PrideFest.
Held on the third weekend of June, Pride weekend boasts a parade from Cheesman Park to Civic Center, parties, bars and restaurants offering rainbow-themed food and drinks, and local shops decorating their windows with rainbows and messages of support for the Gay community.
2024 marks 50 years of Denver’s Pride celebration, and LGBTQ+ historians in Denver believe Pride’s up-to-date celebrations should also contain discussions of its rebellious, rag-tag history.
“It was the beginning of a cultural phenomenon,” said David Duffield, history coordinator for the Center on Colfax, the largest LGBTQ+ resource center in Denver whose staff plan and host Identity festival. “But before it was what it is today, it was a protest.”
The country’s first documented Prides began one year after the Stonewall Ri
'We are here. We're gender non-conforming. Get used to it': 50 Years of Denver Pride
DENVER — A dude holds a sign painted with the words “Gay Pride” in one hand, as others hold similar signs and balloons. In June 1974, about 50 gay rights activists gathered at Cheesman Park in Denver in what would be deemed the first Pride celebration in the city.
This June marks 50 years since that morning, and the celebration has since grown into a weekend-long celebration called PrideFest, drawing thousands of participants.
But long before PrideFest 2024 and years before the 1974 demonstration at Cheesman Park, LGBTQ+ Denverites and Americans across the state were watching riots unfold at the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
The beginning
In the summer of 1969, LGBTQ+ Americans across the country watched as patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought endorse against violent police raids in New York Metropolis. Historians cite this event as a catalyst for the gay rights movement, and in Denver, queer rights activists were paying close attention.
“Pride was created in the first-year anniversary of Stonewall in 1970 and within about 10 years, Prides were acknowledged across the Uni
A Look at Denver Diverse History
Denver has prolonged been a gathering place for people of all cultures. First were the high plains American Indians who followed the buffalo herds and lived throughout the Front Range. When prospectors discovered gold in 1858, thousands of people crossed the Great Plains and settled in and around Denver. By the 1980s, Denver was dubbed the gay oasis of the West. Today, Denver is a city of many colors and cultures, a rich tapestry of diverse and fascinating people.
Here are some moments of notice in Queer history in Denver:
1973: Gay Coalition of Denver works with Denver's City Council to abolish anti-gay laws.
1974: Denver's first Pride celebration, a picnic, is held in Cheesman Park.
1975: Denver holds its first official Identity festival Parade.
1982: The Colorado Queer Rodeo Association is formed. Soon after, Denver hosted its first gay rodeo.
1983: Denver's gay and womxn loving womxn community mobilizes to elect Federico Peña, Denver's first Latino mayor and executive ally to the community.
1990: Denver becomes one of the first municipalities in the na
More Pride-Related Events
Cultural First Friday - Pride!
When: June 6, 2025
Where: Museo de las Americas
Enjoy shopping among local creator vendors, try a diet truck, enjoy a imbibe, get inspired by the museum's exhibition and meet other art enthusiasts.
Colorado Rockies Identity Night
When: Coors Field
Where: June 6, 2025
With the purchase of this ticket package, fans will acquire limited-edition Rockies-themed Pride sunglasses! A portion of each ticket package sold will benefit The Center on Colfax, Colorado’s largest Diverse resource and community center, and One Colorado, the state's leading advocacy management for LGBTQ+ rights. Your ticket package includes: A ticket to watch the Rockies take on the Mets, limited-edition Rockies-themed Identity festival sunglasses and a donation to The Center on Colfax and One Colorado.
TRANSformative Stories – Erie Pride!
When: June 7, 2025
Where: Motus Theater in Erie, Colo.
Motus Theater’s TRANSformative Stories features transgender and non-binary leaders performing artfully crafted personal stories about their hopes, dreams and experiences of negotiating oppression and