Indianapolis will be host to events and activations celebrating Pride Month and honoring LGBTQ+ Hoosiers and trailblazers all month long.
What began as a single picnic at Eagle Creek Park in 1981 has grown into a month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility, community and joy across Indianapolis — emphasizing the significance of why celebrating Pride still matters.
“I’ve been fighting the fight for a long time, and I never thought I’d see the day that I would marry my partner … and then to be able to be yourself in a work environment,” said Julie Bush, social media and membership manager for the Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce. “That’s important to me, personally, overall to the community, especially the trans community and the younger community.”
Coming together for the celebration of queer and trans joy is what makes these events special, said Belinda Drake, executive director of Trans Solutions Research and Resource Center (TSRRC).
The nonprofit, which works to remove social and systemic barriers preventing trans and gender non-conforming individuals from accessing health care, housing, employment and education, will have staff members at various events throughout the state — such as Pride Night at the Indiana Fever — and the National Trans Visibility March in Washington D.C.
“This is the time, as I tell my staff to not only show up for our community, but to celebrate yourselves,” Drake said. “We are BIPOC and LGBTQ+, and so Juneteenth is a time where I’m trying to encourage them to take some time just to be celebrated as Black queer people, but we are doing our best to keep up with the demand that has increased for our services.”
Advocating, educating and sharing Black, brown and queer joy, is essential, Drake said. However, it’s especially critical to uplift trans and gender non-conforming Hoosiers who “need us the most.” In the last few years, Drake has seen the community step up to “fill in the gap” for the LGBTQ+ community where government support falls short.
“During this time, we have to come together and stand as one,” Drake said. “Regardless of what it may seem like during these times, this community — trans people specifically — have always existed before and will always exist. Every movement has been led or trailblazed by the Black and LGBTQ+ community.”
Throughout June, the nonprofit is hosting their Pride with a Purpose campaign to raise $25,000 to support their year-round work serving trans and gender non-conforming communities.
Looking at the growth of Indy Pride, now celebrating 30 years, to the Damien Center opening a new facility, to Indiana Youth Group, Trinity Haven, Trans Solutions and Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, Bush likens the community to “spokes on a wheel.”
“But you need them,” Bush said. “You need them all to make it work, and there’s a very powerful, positive community that, I mean, yeah, they’re scared, … but at the same time, they’re not gonna go down without a fight.”
The Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, founded in 2002, supports and promotes LGBTQ+ and allied businesses in Indiana by providing resources, networking and partnerships. It is also the official Indiana affiliate of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).
The Rainbow Chamber hosts monthly After Hours networking events, including two in June for Pride Month — one already held and another at 6 p.m. on June 25 at Heath Outdoor.
Growing up, Indianapolis was “a scary place to be” as an LGBTQ+ person, Bush said, let alone be out and looking for a job. It’s taken a long time — nearly 25 years — but she’s seen Pride parades grow from five cars to nearly four hours long last year.
“We’ve worked a long, long time, and I’m not ancient, but I’m not a kid anymore,” Bush said. “The things that I’ve been able to see and do in my lifetime, because of Pride, because of celebrations, DEI, because of people evolving their attitudes; churches even evolving their thinking, that I’m a happy elder.”
Indy Pride’s calendar alone is packed with a variety of diverse and community-centered events, from Community Music night to LatinX Pride to Bi and Beyond and more. However, the headlining events — the Pride Parade, Celebration on the Circle and the two-day music festival WORD OF MOUTH — culminate on June 14-15.
Several elements of the celebrations honor the organization’s roots and origins of Pride in Indianapolis, WORD OF MOUTH Director Jeff Kuhn said.
“Inclusivity is what any Pride is all about,” Kuhn said. “We want to make sure that we’re always an open and inclusive space for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. Pride Month is obviously the core of that celebration, and so we want to hit it big this year. But also, we celebrate Pride all year long.”
Following the Parade, guests are invited to Monument Circle for Celebration on the Circle. The free, two-day event pays homage to Indianapolis’ first official public Pride celebration, which took place on the circle in 1990.
Despite being protested, “Celebration on the Circle” welcomed attendees of a variety of sexual and gender expressions, giving them a safe space to socialize publicly, learn about their rights and hear from AIDs activists, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau. A historical market was placed at Monument Circle in 2021, commemorating this.
From noon to 5 p.m. June 14-15, Indy Pride’s Celebration on the Circle promises a curated safe space for LGBTQ+ Hoosiers and allies to enjoy community activations, live music and drag performances, shop through food and business vendors and visit health care professionals, local partners and sponsors.
However, Kunh said that Indy Pride’s two-day music series, WORD OF MOUTH, will bring the organization back to American Legion Mall, the original home of the annual Indy Pride Festival.
Music has always been the “driving force behind the festival” in previous years, Kuhn said. WORD OF MOUTH, which features local and national touring musical and drag performers, such as Natasha Bedingfield and Tinashe, is a nod to that force.
“People always got really excited about the entertainment that we had … especially since we had Lizzo in 2019,” Kuhn said. “Because of the 30th anniversary, we thought it’d be a great opportunity to kind of go all out.”
Gates open at 2:30 p.m. with general admission tickets ranging from $35-$55. For more information about the Pride Parade, Celebration on the Circle and WORD OF MOUTH music series, visit indypride.org.
“This year, especially with the political climate that we see around, we just want to make sure that people have a fun, safe way to celebrate,” Kuhn said. “We want to continue to create spaces for folks who may need someone to lean on, or may need a community to lean on, to kind of get through those tough times. We’re here for them.”
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and her previous work includes freelancing for Indy Maven, Assistant Arts & Life Editor for The Lantern, and editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Chloe enjoys covering all things arts and culture — from local music, visual art, dance, theater and film, as well as minority-owned businesses. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, cooking and keeping her plants alive.
