Greater Ozarks Pridefest 2019
Pridefest is the largest LGBTQ+ event in Southwest Missouri that attracted over 4,000 people in 2017 and continues to grow every year. We are reaching out to you for your participation in this celebration of equality, diversity, and community.
Greater Ozarks Pridefest is sponsored by the GLO Center, the LGBTQ+ community center of the Ozarks (www.glocenter.org).
Pridefest In The Fall
The GLO Center strongly believes that social justice and racial equity are integral to our community’s success. Pride & Juneteenth are equally important to the LGBTQ+ community. In recent years, there has been an increasing difficulty in scheduling these two important local celebrations in the same month. As we must avoid weekends where Pride is scheduled in larger cities such as Kansas City & St. Louis, we often ended up scheduling Pride the same weekend as Juneteenth. This means that community members, vendors, and donors often have had to choose between the two events, thus creating an impediment to the growth and success of our local Juneteenth celebration.
Moving the festival allows us to persist in our tradition of pride, honor all who came before us, carve out additional space for LGBTQ+ people of color, utilize the capacity of our volunteers and community efficiently, and most importantly lift up the voices of our local communities of color.
Events Happening in October
October 12th: Greater Ozarks Pride Parade & Pridefest at Park Central Square
More information coming soon!
Sponsorship October 12, 2019
ALL payments and graphics due by September 1st!
One sponsorship per business license or 501(c)3.
Returning sponsor? Ask about our upgrade incentive!
FAQS
Juneteenth commemorates and celebrates June 19, 1865, the day the last slaves in the Confederacy learned of the Emancipation Proclamation which had been issued months before. We understand that there are many who argue that the Civil War has little to nothing to do with slavery. Juneteenth is an opportunity to pause and reflect, and attempt to understand the Civil War through the eyes of those of us once enslaved, those of us who continue to survive the oppression of being the “other” in this nation, generation after generation. The Springfield NAACP hosts a Juneteenth celebration every year because we believe that our journeys and our stories are important too. We believe that to negate any one part of our history not only invokes repeating it, but affects all of us. There are queer and trans people who are people of color too. We cannot divide ourselves. We want to celebrate all of who we are, not only parts that may be acceptable.
YES! The Pridefest Planning Committee is working hard to plan several Pride events in June, honoring the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and giving us all the opportunity to celebrate our authentic selves. There’s still time to volunteer and get in on the action behind the scenes! Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up to date with all the happenings!
If you would like to volunteer, complete the online application (Google Form) at bit.ly/GLOvolapp. If your business or organization would like to become a sponsor, or hold an event, please contact us at pride@glocenter.org.
Yes, the square is accessible for those with mobility accommodations, including for people who use wheelchairs, and for the blind and low vision community. Sign language interpreters are also provided for the Deaf community. If you have any questions or specific concerns, please contact us at pride@glocenter.org. There will also be tents and chairs provided in front of the stage.
There is no charge for admission to Pridefest on Park Central Square. Additional events (such as Pride Night at the Springfield Cardinals) will have costs associated, and we strive to keep those costs as affordable as possible for everyone in the community.
The Parade will still open Pridefest on the Square, October 12th. There will be lots of updates to the parade, including highlighted spectator areas to bring a lawn chair and watch the festivities!
No. Guests are not permitted to set up tents on festival grounds.
No matter what type of organization or business you have, you must fill out an application to purchase a booth to sell items at the festival.
Whether there are two people or 200 hundred in your contingent, you must fill out a parade application.
No. Unless you have a booth at Greater Ozarks PrideFest, you cannot solicit or sell anything in any way on festival grounds. Protest or demonstration activities will be directed to the free-speech zone, open to anyone who is not selling a product. Violation of these rules will result in immediate and permanent eviction from PrideFest by the Springfield Police Department. Sales of any merchandise outside of booths are prohibited.
We need lots of volunteers to make Greater Ozarks PrideFest happen! Learn more about how you can get involved by completing a volunteer application.
All ages are welcome. Small children must have adult supervision.
Contact
Phone: 417-869-3978
Address: 518 E. Commercial Street Springfield, MO 65803
MON-FRI 9:00 - 5:00
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