Grand Rapids Pride Festival

June 21-22, 2025

Saturday: 12 - 10 PM
Sunday: 12 - 8 PM

Calder Plaza

Since 1988, the Grand Rapids Pride Festival has celebrated local LGBTQIA+ residents and their contributions to the fabric of our city. The Festival brings LGBTQIA+ community members and businesses together with allies and supportive organizations for a day of diversity, inclusion, fellowship and fun.  

The Pride Festival has always been one of the city’s largest one-day festivals – but this year, it’s bigger, longer and better than ever, as it expands to two full days!

Details for this year’s expanded event are still being finalized, but the Festival typically features all-day entertainment – past headliners have included Big Freedia, Robin S, Alex Newell and Deborah Cox – plus a food court, beer tents, 200+ vendor booths, and a children and family area. We’ll provide more details on this year’s event here as soon as they’re announced.

GR Pride takes place in Calder Plaza, the largest community gathering space in downtown GR, which can comfortably accommodate tens of thousands of people. 

Pride celebrants often end the night at The Apartment Lounge , Michigan’s oldest gay bar, Rumors Night Club , a rollicking dance and drag destination, and/or General Wood Shop, an intimate and stylish cocktail bar curated for the queer community. All three are within a 10-minute walk of Calder Plaza.

About GR Pride

GR Pride is a safe, open and welcoming environment for every member of the LGBTQIA+ to proclaim their personhood, without reservation and without apology. The Pride Festival is a fundraiser organized by the Grand Rapids Pride Center , the area’s most comprehensive resource for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated and go directly to Pride Center programs and services.

The Center and affiliated organizations offer a slate of additional Pride-friendly events and activities throughout June, so check back here in the weeks to come. For things to see and do right now, visit our LGBTQIA+ in GR page.

Your Pride Weekend Itinerary

Spend the weekend in Grand Rapids to soak up the all the Pride you can. Scroll down to see our ever-expanding list of PRIDE events. Get inspired by this sample itinerary for a LGBTQIA+ weekend getaway in GR.

You’ll also want to check out these locally owned & operated LGBTQIA+ businesses – bars, restaurants, coffeehouses, shops and more – so you can support the local queer community while you’re here!

Pride Festivals Near Grand Rapids

Lowell Pride takes place on the banks of the beautiful Flat River in downtown Lowell, about 20 minutes from downtown GR. This year’s theme is “Defy & Amplify,” and it promises to be the biggest, boldest, most powerful Lowell Pride yet. June 7.

The Muskegon Pride Festival is an all-day, all-ages street party highlighting LGBTQIA+-owned businesses, artists, performers and supporters. June 7.

The third annual Grand Haven Pride Festival takes place at Waterfront Stadium on June 14.

The Holland Pride Festival celebrates its 22nd year with music and dancing, a family and kids’ area, food trucks, games and more. At Centennial Park June 28.

Saugatuck-Douglas, a longtime LGBTQIA+ beach getaway, celebrates Pride Week with fun and educational events from June 1-7, leading up to a grand festival on June 7.

Discover Grand Rapids Hotels 

June is a great time to visit Grand Rapids. Why not turn your trip to the Pride Festival into a mini-vacation? Take a look at the wide range of hotel options available. Looking for something cozier? Our Bed and Breakfasts will not disappoint. Do you love the outdoors? Then check out our campgrounds.

History of Grand Rapids Pride Festival

The first Grand Rapids Pride Festival took place on June 19th, 1988. It was organized by a group of local residents who had attended the March on Washington for Lesbian Gay Rights on October 11, 1987. They wanted to bring the sense of pride, security and belonging they experienced in the nation's capital to the LGBTQ community of West Michigan.

That first festival was hosted in the metaphorical heart of Grand Rapids – the Monroe Amphitheater (now Rosa Parks Circle) – a rightful place for a community that contributes so much to the city’s vibrancy and creativity.

Grand Rapids Pride Center

The Pride Festival is a program of the Grand Rapids Pride Center, which empowers the local LGBTQIA+ community through supportive services and awareness. The Pride Festival helps generate funds to further the Center’s invaluable work.