Photos and story by Karly Cordell / Contributing Writer
Thousands came together this weekend in celebration of LGBT rights at the 30th annual Nashville Pride Festival in Public Square Park on Saturday and Sunday.
Attendees enjoyed food, drinks, shopping vendors, music, entertainment and dancing at the festival proceeding the equality walk, which took place throughout downtown Nashville.
Nashville Pride hosted headliners and entertainment such as JoJo, FLETCHER, Wilson Phillips and local “playmates” from Nashville’s gay dance club and drag bar, Play.
Including a main headliner stage, an entertainment/drag stage, Kids Zone, Youth Pavilion and over 200 vendors, there was fun at every corner.
According to the Nashville Pride website, both the equality walk and festival are dedicated to “celebrating gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and culture in the Middle Tennessee Area since 1988.”
According to Phil Cobucci, the former president of Nashville Pride, this year’s festival was the largest yet.
“This is my fourth year coming to Nashville Pride, and I absolutely love it,” said festival-goer Tanner Holland. “Pride is a place where I can be myself without any worries, surrounded by others just like me.”
“Even though the LGBT community has made a lot of strides in the past few years, being gay in 2018 is still sometimes a challenge,” Holland said. “These celebrations are a reminder that we all matter, no matter what our sexual orientation or gender preference is.”
Once the festival came to a close, the party did not stop. Many of the festival attendees went to after-parties and celebrations such as a foam party at Play Dance Bar and the Queer Dance Party at Studio615.
Festivalgoers dance on a portable dance floor at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Festival headliner JoJo performs on the Nissan Stage at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Pride headliner JoJo performs on the Nissan Stage at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Rainbow lights illuminate the Nashville Courthouse at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
The sun sets behind the main Nissan Stage at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Openly bisexual rapper Taylor Bennett takes the stage at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Openly bisexual rapper Taylor Bennett takes the stage at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Popular drag queen Ciara Couture Black performs at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Popular drag queen Ciara Couture Black performs at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Daddy’s Dogs, a popular hot dog vendor in the Nashville area, whips up and serves a variety of hot dogs at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Daddy’s Dogs, a popular hot dog vendor in the Nashville area, whips up and serves a variety of hot dogs at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Festival attendees stroll from vendor to vendor at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Festival attendees Caleb Bloxom and Brock Roach show some love at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
Festivalgoers celebrate love and equality at Nashville’s Pride Festival in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (MTSU Sidelines / Karly Cordell)
To contact Lifestyles Editor Sydney Wagner, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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