If you’re a Virgo like me and enjoy a nice, organized schedule, it may also bug you that Austin’s Pride Month does not line up with national Pride Month. We officially do ours in August, while national Pride Month started June 1.
Why does Austin do that?
There’s a couple of reasons Austin does things differently. Doing Pride in August gives Austin Pride Foundation better opportunities to book talent and get visitors to come to town as it costs thousands to put the festival and parade on, the organization says.
The events would also require costly rain insurance if they weren’t held in August, a historically dry month in Austin.
August is also when thousands of college students return to the city for the school year, and they make up the majority of the roughly 400 volunteers Austin Pride Foundation needs to put on its festival.
What is Pride?
Pride honors the Stonewall Uprising of June 1969, when fights broke out after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. The uprising lasted six days and set the gay rights movement in the U.S. in motion. On the anniversary of the uprising, the first Pride march was held in NYC. Pride celebrations in Austin can be traced back to 1970, and in 1990, the events were sanctioned as the Gay and Lesbian Pride Fiesta.
Today, Pride celebrations aim to honor Stonewall, remember those who’ve died from HIV/AIDS, recognize LGBTQ+ contributions to society, and to simply celebrate who you are. Expect rainbow-filled parties, parades, and more in Austin in June and August!
