Lubbock will celebrate its 13th annual Pride Fest with music, food and entertainment acts throughout the Lubbock Arts District starting at noon on June 28.
Planned and prepared by volunteers from LubbockPRIDE, the yearly event is a place of understanding and camaraderie for the community, said Topher Covarrubio, LubbockPRIDE president.
“We are providing a place where they are able to celebrate who they are, celebrate who they love and just be safe and inclusive,” Covarrubio said, “and not be judged for who they choose to live with or to be with or to celebrate their lives with.”
Contrasting last year’s Pride Fest, the celebration will span a larger area of Lubbock’s Arts District.
Covarrubio said the event also has seen a downturn in political sponsorship from previous years.
While Pride Fest only requires a $1 admission fee for attendees 13 or older, LubbockPRIDE is asking for $5 donations from those who are able to help offset some of those funding losses.
Inside, this year’s Pride Fest will feature live music, a magician, karaoke, a children’s area and an aerial acrobatic performance.
Also performing is Mistress Isabelle Brooks, known for her role competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2023 and her current spot on the 10th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
While the day-long event will be family friendly, the after-hours drag show is adults only for $30 a ticket.
“There’s been a really big jump in excitement for this,” Covarrubio said. “Normally, we have a really amazing turnout, but it seems like everyone is really excited, even more this year, because this is the first time Lubbock has ever brought a performer from RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Security will be present at the door of the drag show, Covarrubio said, and background checks were conducted on volunteers and vendors to ensure the event’s message and guidelines are understood by attendees.
Pride Fest has transitioned into a private event following occurrences of a few protestors attending previous events. With the required pay for entry, no hate speech, loudspeakers or flyer distribution will be inside the event itself.
The motto “We’re not going anywhere!” follows this year’s event, which Covarrubio said is rooted in acknowledging the LGBTQ+ community’s presence in Lubbock.
“That is just letting, you know, letting the community, the population, know that we’re, we’ve always been here,” Covarrubio said. “It’s not like we have just sprung up out of nowhere. We’ve always been here.”
Covarrubio is anticipating this year’s Pride Fest to be the largest Lubbock has seen in terms of turnout, as well as physical space.
Roughly 90 vendors are registered for the celebration, which Covarrubio said is on par with past events, as well as 11 food trucks – the largest number the event has seen
Following nearly a year of volunteers planning for this Pride Fest, Covarrubio said he is most excited to see the culmination of their work finally come together for the community.
“It’s always such a happy event,” Covarrubio said. “Everyone’s got smiles, and everyone’s just, you know, celebrating, you know, who they are and just being comfortable in their own skin in an area where everyone is welcoming.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: LubbockPride to host annual Pride Fest Saturday in Arts District
Reporting by By Aynsley Larsen, Special for the Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
