2024 Pride Festival kicks off in downtown Nashville this weekend
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — We’re one day away from the start of Nashville Pride events. According to the event’s organizers, thousands are expected to be in attendance downtown this weekend.
A weekend of music, dancing, vendors, and camaraderie is on tap as Nashville Pride kicks off in Music City. This year’s event is supposed to be the biggest yet, with upwards of 200,000 expected to attend.
Some events include the parade on Saturday at 10 a.m. Broadway will close from 8th to 2nd avenue. The festival will follow at Bicentennial Park, where there will be vendors and entertainment. The fest will end at 9:00 p.m.
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“Nashville is a very welcoming city and this is a celebration that highlights that,” said Nashville Pride Grand Marshal Brian Sullivan.
A major line up of performers are also set to take the stage both Saturday and Sunday, including Billy Porter, Tinashe and Icona Pop. Weather is also on the top of everyone’s mind and it’s prompting some changes to this year’s policies.
“We know that we’re expecting it to be extremely hot this weekend, so they are allowing large water bottles, refillable water bottles that you can take in,” Sullivan said. “They’ve switched to multiple hydration stations throughout the festival, misting stations.”
In 2023, legislators introduced a slew of anti-LGBTQ legislation, including one law that attempted to restrict where and when drag shows could take place.
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“That threat is always there, there will always be. You can’t please everybody and there are some people that are aggravated by the very fact that we exist,” Sullivan said. “LGBTQ, Black and Brown communities and women have a faced a lot of attacks from our legislators.”
Leaders with Nashville Pride said that despite any current or future opposing legislation, the LGBTQ community stands as one.
“The fact that we can all come together and support each other and say ‘I’m going to stand with you and we’re going to stand together and we’re going to get through this together’ I think is what Pride is all about,” Sullivan said.
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