CARMEL — After its successful first pride festival in 2021, Carmel Pride announced Sunday it will be back this summer.
The Carmel Pride festival will take place on June 5, with more events, performances, and ways for the local LGBTQ community and their allies to come together.
According to Carmel Pride, a grassroots organization founded by a group of high school students, about 2,500 people attended last year's festival.
"Truly, this event was a testament to the power of youth organizing," Ethan Stoehr, one of the founders of Carmel Pride, stated in a release.
The one-day festival will be split into two parts at Carter Green this year.
An all-ages pride festival will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., including kids' activities. Starting at 7:30 p.m., the "Pride at Sunset" portion of Carmel Pride begins with a laser show, glow sticks, and music that may contain explicit language. Event organizers say that although Pride at Sunset is not for all ages, it is not an "adult event." Anyone under 18 is still welcome.
Altogether, attendees of Carmel Pride can expect performances by singers, hip-hop dancers, visual artists, and drag queens. There will be local food and merchandise vendors, social justice and LGBTQ community education booths, speeches from community leaders, free merch, and more "engaging activities," Carmel Pride's release read.
"No matter what one’s interest is, they are sure to find a space where they fit in at Carmel Pride, just as everyone in the LGBTQ+ community should feel in their own city," Stoehr stated.
You can learn more about Carmel Pride at pridecarmel.wixsite.com/pride and follow the organization on Instagram andTwitter.
WRTV Digital Reporter Shakkira Harris can be reached at shakkira.harris@wrtv.com. You can follow her on Twitter, @shakkirasays.
