It started small. On June 25, 1983, about three hundred people gathered in City Hall Park for Vermont's first Pride march. It kept happening every year after that, growing into the state's largest LGBTQ+ celebration.

This year, the Pride Center of Vermont stepped back from organizing the September event to focus on year round programming. Rather than let the parade lapse, a coalition of local groups picked it up: Burly Bear, Out in the 802, Queer VT, and the City of Burlington. Same event. More hands.

The details

Sunday, September 13. The parade steps off at noon on South Winooski Avenue, moves up Church and Pearl Streets, and ends at Battery Park, where the festival takes over from 1 to 4pm. Expect music, performances, food, and no shortage of new faces.

Want to march, volunteer, or bring a group along? Registration and route details live at pridevt.org.

 

women celebrating pride parade with rainbow flags and smiling faces

 

Not the only Pride in town

Essex Pride kicks off the season each May, about fifteen minutes away. People's Pride, a grassroots gathering that keeps itself free of sponsors, fills June. Winooski Pride shows up in September too (September 16th), part of the city's Winooski Wednesdays series at Rotary Park, with its own march, performers, and an LGBTQIA+ makers market. September is the big one here in Burlington, but it's not the whole story.

Why September?

If you're wondering why Burlington's Pride happens in September instead of June, you're not the only one. Pride Vermont has said it comes down to timing that actually works for the city. A lot of the college population that fills Burlington in the fall isn't around in June, and the late-summer weather here tends to be a safer bet than early summer. So the parade waits, and by mid-September, the city fills back up right as the leaves start to think about turning.

Want to support Pride beyond the day itself? Pride Vermont sells a solidarity band to help fund the event year over year. Details are here.

Come visit

Church Street will be busy before and after the parade passes through. The waterfront is a short walk from Battery Park if you want a quieter moment between events. And the South End Art Hop tends to land nearby on the calendar, worth checking if you're building a longer weekend around the trip.

Burlington has been doing this for more than forty years. Come see what all the fuss, and the joy, is about.

Dog dressed up and ready for Pride Parade in tutu with rainbow flags around it.