<\/p>\n
The Dallas Pride Festival of Rainbows held one of their events at Main Street Garden Park in downtown Dallas on Saturday, June 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
Stewart F. House\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Taylor Day (left), 24, of Plano and Nessa Solorzano, (right), 26, of Rockwall take a selfie with their group in their booth, “stand for the Silent”, as the Dallas Pride Festival of Rainbows held one of their events at Main Street Garden Park in downtown Dallas on Saturday, June 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
Stewart F. House\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Jennifer Lott, 49, of Duncanville, dances a jig while setting up her booth, “Lin and Jen Hats On” , as the Dallas Pride Festival of Rainbows held one of their events at Main Street Garden Park in downtown Dallas on Saturday, June 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
Stewart F. House\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
After six<\/a> years at Fair Park, Dallas Pride headed downtown Saturday, transforming the city\u2019s parks into vibrant spaces filled with music, vendors and performances under this year\u2019s theme: \u201cRainbows don\u2019t wash away.\u201d<\/p>\n Thousands were expected to attend the Dallas Pride Festival <\/a>throughout the day, a sprawling celebration of LGBTQ identity, visibility and community, culminating in Saturday evening\u2019s historic sunset parade at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n The celebration was spread across downtown\u2019s Main Street Garden Park, Pacific Plaza, Harwood Park and Pegasus Plaza.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Organizers described this year\u2019s theme as \u201ca direct response to a rising tide of challenges facing the LGBTQ community both in Texas and across the United States\u201d in a news release<\/a>. They went on to point to the removal of rainbow-painted crosswalks <\/a>as evidence of these challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shortly after the festival’s opening at 11 a.m., a line of attendees wrapped around the block outside Main Street Garden Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Free Mom Hugs’<\/p>\n Among those waiting to enter were Mia Mitchell, 50, and\u00a0Josie Rini, 46, who traveled from Plano to the event. The duo sported colorful shirts that read \u201cFree Mom Hugs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mitchell said about 12 moms from the organization’s Dallas chapter were scattered around the festival, looking to brighten other attendees\u2019 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here to show a little love to anyone that needs a hug from a mom,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis is the year to show up. If ever there was a time to be an ally, it\u2019s now.\u201d<\/p>\n The festival saw a heavy police presence, with officers securing the entrances and stationed throughout the parks. Attendees had to pass through bag checks and show IDs alongside their tickets to enter. General admission cost $15.\u00a0<\/p>\n Main Street Garden Park, the festival\u2019s central area, was home to tents from a host of vendors selling jewelry, shirts and food. Corporate sponsors included Michaels, CVS and community organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside the park, Dana Castelvecchi, who is part of the LGBTQ civil rights organization Human Rights Campaign, said the group was there to raise awareness as they work to elect \u201clike-minded candidates up and down the ballot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re trying to build people’s power to stand up against the current administration,\u201d Castelvecchi said. \u201cHappy Pride,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Family friendly<\/p>\n A block away, Harwood Park held the festival\u2019s teen and family zone, featuring family-friendly performances and SPCA pet adoptions alongside tents from the Dallas Public Library, the Dallas Zoo and corporate sponsors including Comerica Bank and Fifth Third Bank. Children were invited to make crafts or slide down an inflatable slide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Allison Bell and her family came to the family zone from Plano.\u00a0<\/p>\n While her daughter explored the zone’s activities, Bell said the family was there to support her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have a place to go that\u2019s happy, that is accepting, and you don\u2019t have to pretend to be anything you\u2019re not,\u201d Bell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At the Dallas Public Library table, representative Stephanie Lott said the library was there because of a sense of pride in the community. \u201cWe are proud of people, we are proud of books, we are proud to provide books to people, we are proud to be your library,\u201d Lott said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alongside information about summer reading programs, the library distributed origami kits and free books.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another library representative, Kaycee Choi, added that the library has been in attendance at Pride events for many years to show support for the local community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really good to be able to represent here, because our staff is LGBTQI+ too,\u201d Choi said.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Beloved child of God’<\/p>\n Across from the festivities on\u00a0Harwood Street, a group of four men from the Gospel of Jesus Christ-Dallas stood with flags and posters reading \u201cJesus saves\u201d and \u201cRepent and believe the Gospel\u201d in protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Inside the park, Cathedral of Hope, a congregation of the United Church of Christ, spread a different message.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christopher Schouten said the church’s mission is to \u201cmake sure that everybody here knows that they’re a beloved child of God.\u201d He added that the congregation has been involved with Pride since “its inception.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve been told so many times by churches and families that we grew up in that we are not [children of God], and our message is \u2018Sorry, that’s wrong,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe have something for everybody, and we want everyone to be surprised about how different we are.\u201d<\/p>\n Standing at the end of the line on Commerce Street around noon, Steve Smith and Justin Bastible of downtown Dallas shared they came to the festival for the sense of community. This year\u2019s celebration marked their second and third time attending Dallas Pride, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThere aren\u2019t that many opportunities to bring the queer community together, so it\u2019s a great event,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n