The Dallas Pride Miller Lite Showcase kicked off at Fair Park on Friday. The event originally scheduled to take place outdoors was moved indoors to the Fair Park Coliseum due to the recent weather.
Crews spent all week setting up for the event. Organizers of the Dallas Pride event say it is much more than just a party.
“It’s coming together with your loved ones, and getting support all of your Pride talent, gay, straight, lesbian, trans, we’re all together and able to celebrate and that’s what it’s really about,” said logistics director Vincent DeLuna.
Close to 2,000 people are expected to gather in person for the festivities. It’s the first time many of them have seen each other in over a year and organizers say they’re ready for a celebration.
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“We’ve sold out both nights completely and we are so excited that we sold out, due to the forecast we’ve moved it here,” said DeLuna.
Sue Ellen’s Bar on Throckmorton also expects a crowd this weekend. It’s the only lesbian bar in Dallas that opened in 1989 but has sat empty for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You know it’s just a great weekend for all of us,” said general manager, Kathy Jack. “It’s like waiting on your birthday or waiting on Christmas, it’s what we’ve been waiting for and it’s finally here.”
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The purpose behind Pride celebrations across the world is to give members of the LGBTQ community and its allies a safe place to be accepted and celebrated. And after a long year of COVID-19 restrictions, many people say this weekend’s events feel like a homecoming.
“Now it’s happening and my phone is blowing up,” said Jack. “Everybody is ready to see their friends, everybody is ready to get a hug and to feel like we’re home again.”
On June 4 and June 5, gates for the events at the Fair Park Coliseum will open at 7 p.m. and show time is 8 p.m.
On Friday, Marsha Dimes will host a show featuring entertainment from Uptown Players, Jada Pinkett Fox, IDT Band, Raquel Blake, The Roommates, Daphne Rio, Bleach and other artists at Fair Park.
On Saturday, June 5, the show hosted by Marsha Dimes will feature The Cast of the Rose Room; The Fly Queens; Sisters-in-Action; Sister Helen Holy; The FlannelTones, an ensemble of the Turtle Creek Chorale; Anton Shaw; Niecee X; Kameron Ross from America’s Got Talent; and others. Kennedy Davenport, a star of RuPaul’s Drag Race, also will perform.
In addition to the in-person experiences, the events also will be streamed online at 7:30 p.m. Streaming is complementary and can be accessed via DallasPride.org.
You can check out a list of other pride events in North Texas here.
