There’s No Place Like Home is this year’s theme, a nod to “The Wizard of Oz.”
The month-long festival has nine events in its lineup : a street fair, games, comedy shows, concerts and film screenings.
“Louisville is home to many wonderful LGBTQ+ people. We are proud to call Louisville home, we are proud to call Kentucky home, and no one can take that away from us,” said Louisville Pride Foundation executive director Mike Slaton.
The biggest event of the month will be a street fair Saturday, Sept. 9 on Bardstown Road. Organizers say it will feature 150 vendors, plus musical performances. The Over the Rainbow Drag Extravaganza show will close out the event .
Slaton said with drag performers under threat across the country, the show is a way to demonstrate what drag really is.
“There’s nothing to fear from the LGBTQ community, there’s nothing to fear from drag performance, drag performance is part of the economic activity of a community,” he said, adding he wants the show to be the best in Kentucky history.
Here’s what’s in store:
- Sept. 2: The Louisville Pride Festival Kick-Off Game with Racing Louisville. You can get tickets here.
- Sept. 6: The Louisville Pride Festival Queer Comedy Show at The Caravan will feature four local queer comics, Vidalia Unwin, June Dempsey, Reed Sedgwick and Keith McGill. Tickets can be purchased here.
- Sept. 7: The Pride and Pups Night with the Louisville Bats. You can get tickets here.
- Sept. 9: The 2023 Louisville Pride Festival on Bardstown Road. It will include 150 vendors and musical performances from VOICES of Kentuckiana, John Austin Clark, Robbie Bartlett, members of the Louisville Orchestra, Shitfire, Siena Liggins, Bungalow Betty, Yer Girlfriend, and the Over the Rainbow Drag Extravaganza. The Festival is free to attend and VIP Passes are available for purchase.
- Sept. 16: The Louisville Pride Festival Cinema Showcase at Baxter Avenue Theaters. Tickets are $15, or free for VIP pass holders. Buy tickets to the Cinema Showcase here.
- Sept. 23: The Louisville Pride Center Lou Name Clinic at the Louisville Pride Center at 1244 South 3rd St. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers from Dinsmore & Shohl, the Lambda Law Caucus, and the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law will offer free legal assistance to Kentucky residents to prepare and file name change petitions. Registration is encouraged but not required.
- Sept. 20, 22 and 28: LGBTQ+ Mini-Conferences with workshops and networking opportunities to provide educational opportunities. Each event will be at the Louisville Pride Center and is tailored for a different group: civic leaders and elected officials (Sept. 20), mental health providers (Sept. 22) and LGBTQ+ employee affinity groups and nonprofits (Sept. 28). Registration opens soon.
Louisville Public Media is a media sponsor of Louisville Racing Football Club and Louisville Orchestra events.
