ap

Skip to content

Denver PrideFest opens to sunny skies, increased security

One of Denver’s largest festivals kicks off this Saturday and is expecting to draw hundreds of thousands of people

DENVER, CO - June 18: A woman sports a rainbow painted hand at the annual PrideFest celebration at Civic Center Park June 17, 2016. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
DENVER, CO – June 18: A woman sports a rainbow painted hand at the annual PrideFest celebration at Civic Center Park June 18, 2016. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Claire Cleveland of The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your player ready...

Denver PrideFest kicks off Saturday in Civic Center park and is expecting to attract hundreds of thousands of people over two days.

This year’s theme is “Building Community Through Pride.”

After last weekend’s massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., festival organizers have upped security measures, but decided to  with the event.

Last year, PrideFest had 365,000 visitors, and it’s expecting to see even more this year.

There are a number of special events to look out for, one of which is local artist Lonnie Hanzon‘s art piece; he created a large black box and painted it with chalkboard paint as an open memorial space to the victims of the shooting.

Last year, Hanzon created a 25-foot replica wedding cake that served as a centerpiece for the festival as the community waited in joyful anticipation of .

Other events worth checking out include the Dogs in Drag Parade on Saturday, The Big Gay 5K and the seemingly endless number of vendors and booths around the park. There will be plenty of family friendly booths where you can get your face painted or enjoy a snow cone during .

On Sunday, the PrideFest parade starts at 9:30 a.m. at Cheesman Park and heads west directly to Civic Center. Gov. John Hickenlooper will hold a rally at noon on Sunday to honor the victims of the Orlando shooting and “to ensure a tragedy like this does not happen again.”

There are several street closures and Civic Center will be completely surrounded by fences. To navigate this year’s PrideFest check out .

RevContent Feed

More in Colorado News