Denver Pride moves marquee PrideFest to 16th Street, welcomes new events

DENVER — Denver is gearing up for its annual Pride celebration in June, with some of the longstanding events looking a little different this year.

PrideFest, which has historically taken place in Civic Center Park, will light up the freshly renovated 16th Street from Arapahoe to Broadway. The celebration will take place Sunday, June 28. A weekend-long event in years past, PrideFest is now a one-day celebration.

According to The Center on Colfax CEO Kim Salvaggio, the decision to relocate the festival came from the ongoing struggles around construction on Colfax. Salvaggio said The Center, which organizes the annual Pride celebration, considered several different locations but ultimately landed on 16th Street because of its accessibility. Salvaggio cited that Pride brings in 500,000 people annually, so finding a space that could accommodate those numbers was The Center’s top priority.  

“A lot of people thought we would move PrideFest to Cheesman,” Salvaggio said during Monday’s press conference at The Center. “But we can’t even get the machinery and equipment through the surrounding streets to set up the stage.” (Note: Salvaggio previously worked at Rocky Mountain Public Media.) 

Salvaggio said 16th Street was not able to accommodate the event for two days and that the second day would also add a hefty expense. By removing the second day of the event, The Center hopes to offer more programming and resources to the community throughout the entire month of June. 

Denver Pride lost significant corporate funding last year amidst anti-DEI backlash, and other community members organized against the perceived corporate tilt of PrideFest, prompting alternative community events. Salvaggio addressed this during Monday’s press conference, saying The Center is working within a vetting system to ensure that any corporations that sponsor the event this year align with The Center’s values.

“We cannot do Pride without the support of corporate sponsors, that is the world we live in,” Salvaggio said. “But I do not accept money from any organization that is causing harm to our community, and I cannot take any money from any organization that is contributing to violence or war, at home or abroad.”  

One of this year’s Pride sponsors is the Downtown Denver Partnership, which was responsible for the 16th Street remodel. In a statement to Rocky Mountain PBS, DDP said they are thrilled to be hosting the event. 

“16th Street is designed to be a place where communities take center stage,” a DDP spokesperson said. “This year, we’re especially excited to see partners like The Center on Colfax bring large-scale celebrations to a space that truly reflects our city in a street.” 

Other updates to the Pride calendar include first-time events like Mutt Strutt — a dog drag show — a Pride hike, a cookout put together by the queer BIPOC community, as well as a music festival (no news on the lineup just yet, but Salvaggio promises audiences won’t be disappointed). 

The annual Pride 5K will begin and end in Cheesman Park.

Dates for these events, along with updates on other Pride events, can be found on denverpride.org.