Milwaukee Pridefest

Milwaukee Pridefest has become a HUGE and WELL-LOVED celebration of the gay and lesbian community as well as the overall diversity of this great city!

This 3-day celebration takes places during the first half of June, and usually occurs on the same weekends as Locust Street Festival and the Bead and Button Show. In 2010 it fell on the same weekend as the Milwaukee Air Show.

Pridefest is a celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, and a place for all festival goers to ”be free and be who you are!”

I think that’s what I love most about Pridefest...there are no expectations about who or what you should be, how you should look or what you should wear…whatever makes you comfortable, and who you consider to be “You” is the only thing you need to worry about!

This is the only festival in our city that truly welcomes every single person to be who they want to be, and embraces you for it.

I love that about Pridefest!

Gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, whoever you are and wherever you live, I encourage you to experience this festival at least once in your lifetime...you will not find another place like it...a place where TOTAL ACCEPTANCE is the norm! Free to be yourself and kick back and have a great time as a result!

Milwaukee Pridefest has hosted some huge names in entertainment such as Patti LaBelle, Kathy Griffin, Joan Rivers, Cyndi Lauper, Brandy, Etta James, Deborah Cox, Wanda Sykes, Natasha Bedingfield, the Indigo Girls, Chaka Kahn, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. You’ll also find other regular performances and activities like the PUMP Dance Tent the Leather Show, Drag Shows (that’s drag Queens AND Kings!), dance performances, and other musical performances.

Held at the Summerfest grounds, Milwaukee Pridefest grows in numbers every year. Every year I struggle to find out the details of the free entry to the festival with a donation of non-perishable food items – this info isn’t always easily accessible on the website. Generally speaking, though, on Saturdays and Sundays, sometime around noon-2pm, the Hunger Task Force is at the front gate giving away free tickets for a donations of at least 4 non-perishable food items. Don’t hold me to this as it may change slightly from year to year, but definitely do your research! Bringing 4 items for a ticket to the festival is totally worth it!

Well, I’m ashamed to admit that I did NOT attend Milwaukee Pridefest this year... :( This is the first time in about 12 years that I’ve missed it. Which means, that I do not have pictures to share with you, however I know that there are MANY of you out there who do have pictures, who would be eager to have them placed on this website!

If that’s the case – you have pictures from Pridefest that you’d like to have considered for placement on this site, please contact me and I’ll take a look at what you have. I’m looking for 2-3 good representations of the festival to help give others an idea about what to expect.

To read more about the festival, and see the full schedule, visit the official festival website (opens new window).

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the Milwaukee festival season!

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