In celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, Nashville Pride returns to Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park for two fun-filled days of entertainment, excitement, and inclusivity.
The festival runs June 25 and 26, and kicks off with the can’t-miss Pride Parade at 10 a.m. starting at Broadway and 8th Ave. This year’s parade promises to be the biggest yet and will be led by the 2022 Pride Parade Grand Marshals, country star TJ Osborne, actor/performer Leslie Jordan, and community leaders Greg Cason and Alberta Hardison.
“Each Grand Marshal has shown in some way their pride, community service, and leadership in a way that we recognized to be chosen as someone to represent us at our Pride Parade. This process also involves each board member’s input and vote,” explains Nashville Pride President Mac Huffington.
The annual Nashville Pride Parade is free to attend and features more than 110 incredible entries. Nashville Pride will also honor this year’s Equality Award winners Terry Vo and Pam Kelner who will be honored on the festival’s main stage alongside the Grand Marshals. And it’s not just the parade itself that will be bigger than ever; the 2022 Nashville Pride Festival features three stages with over 100 performances, more than 225 local and regional vendors, food trucks aplenty, a kids and family area, youth area, interactive installation art, and more throughout the two-day celebration.
“The Bicentennial Mall has allowed us to expand the festival in many different ways. It allows for more vendors, more entertainment, more activities, more access, more, more, and more,” Huffington says. “The atmosphere at the Nashville Pride Festival will be an enormous amount of joy and pride as soon as you hit the gate. There will be the smell of food and freshness in the air. The array of vendors’ booths will be decorative and diverse. You can expect a high level of excitement throughout both days.”
Showstopping performances from incredible talent including Walk The Moon, Tanya Tucker, Dave Audé, Michaela Jaé, Bully, Jaime Wyatt, Vincint, and many more contribute to the festival’s electric environment that is as uplifting as it is welcoming to all.
“Nashville Pride strives to ensure everyone can see themselves on stage at some point throughout the weekend. Each year hundreds of submissions are reviewed, and the lineup is curated with diversity and inclusion in mind. The festival attracts a diverse crowd and it’s important the stage lineups reflect that,” says festival director Jack Davis.
Beyond the exciting entertainment and abundance of offerings, Nashville Pride is so much more than a festival. It is a safe and accepting space to come together with friends, family, and loved ones where everyone is not only welcome, but celebrated for being exactly who they are.
“I hope everyone who attends will feel welcome. I hope everyone that attends can see the efforts that have been made to be more open and diverse and see the improvements that have been made to make the festival bigger and better for all,” says Huffington.
“At its roots, the Nashville Pride Festival strives to create a welcoming and safe celebration for LGBTQIA+ people to come together to celebrate how far they have come, but also to see that a lot of work is still left to do,” adds Davis. “We continue to focus on ensuring the festival and parade are for the entire LGBTQIA+ community and we hope attendees can leave the weekend recharged and loved for who they are and what they bring to this world each and every day.” (nashvillepride.org)