Pride South Side Festival Draws 1000 People

SOUTH SIDE, IL — This Saturday, there was Pride on the South Side.

After over a year of cancellations, the 3rd annual Pride South Side Festival took place Saturday at the DuSable Museum Plaza at 740 E. 56th Place from 2 to 8 p.m. It was one of several belated Pride festivals that took place all over Chicago this past weekend.

The theme of this year’s festival was “family and friends,” and festival organizers marketed it as “family-friendly.” The festival also aimed to highlight the area’s best BIPOC and queer-owned businesses, according to NBC5 Chicago.

South Side pride featured live music from Dj Dapper, DJ Duane Powell, and DJ Zolita, a bar sponsored by Miller Coors, and games, food, music, art, massages, photo booths, and even a mechanical bull.

Over 1,000 people registered for the event, event cofounder Ross Melloe told NBC5 News.

The South Side festival was just one of many postponed Pride festivals taking place across Chicago throughout the weekend. In Northalsted, the famed parade was first postponed in May to October, and then canceled last month.

Related:
Chicago Pride Parade Canceled Again Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

Still, the festival – the first to be held not in Boystown but the newly rebranded “Northalsted” in an attempt to be more inclusive – was packed with other events throughout the weekend. Despite heavy rain, the festival attracted roughly 100,000 people, according to ABC7 News.

Many restaurant and bar owners checked vaccine cards at the doors, and free testing and vaccinations were available, according to WGN9 News. Organizers said they worked in conjunction with the Chicago Department of Public Health to ensure safety.

Pride Fest included performances from Mya and Debbie Gibson, a pet parade hosted by Chicago-based character artist Miss Foozie, a dance and cheer routine from the Chicago Pride Brigade, a drag extravaganza hosted by Gina Belle, and free COVID and HIV testing.

“Celebrating pride is so important,” festival organizer Mark Liberson told WGN9 News. “We wanted people to build, to come out, express themselves, to be able to celebrate what we have in our community and also remember that there are so many communities where people don’t have the ability to live their lives as who they are.”

The next festival is scheduled for June 26, 2022, organizers announced in September.