Nashville Pride is a non-profit based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

that produces a yearly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

Pride Festival. Its goal is to celebrate the existence and identity of the LGBT community and "connect people with the services and resources that they need in order to thrive" according to Nashville Pride's Community Affairs Director Phil Cobucci. It is the largest LGBT event based in Tennessee.

History

The first Nashville pride parade took place in June 1988 with help from the

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports ac ...

; about 250 people marched from Fannie Mae Dees Park to Centennial Park. National attention was garnered by the festival in 2010 when headlining entertainer,

Vanessa Carlton Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while ...

, came out to the attendees; she began her set by saying "I've never said this before, but I am a proud bisexual woman." The 2015 festival drew an estimated 15,000–20,000 people, making it the largest gathering since the event began. Records continued to be shattered in subsequent years and the 2018 Nashville Pride festival boasted 35,000 attendees over a two-day period, with nearly 8,000 marching in the Equality Walk. The 2019 festival drew a record crowd of over 75,000 people for two days of planned events. The festival and march were canceled in 2020 and delayed in 2021 in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

; the delayed festival, held in September 2021, required COVID-19 vaccinations or a negative test result but nonetheless gathered thousands of attendees and around 100 booths operated by LBGT-supporting businesses and nonprofits. However, due to heavy rain at the Bicentennial Mall venue, the festival was reduced to a one-day event. The festival was held two weeks after a same-sex couple was denied a tour of a wedding venue in Nashville, which Nashville Pride's Phil Cobucci labeled a discriminatory act.

References

External links

* LGBT events in Tennessee Culture of Nashville, Tennessee Events in Nashville, Tennessee Pride parades in the United States 1988 establishments in Tennessee {{LGBT-event-stub

History

See also

References

External links