These Chill Celebrations Show Colorado's State-Wide Pride

While Colorado’s epicenter of summer Pride festivities is Denver during the weekend of June 25-26, smaller towns around the Centennial State — and even one of the world’s highest ski areas — get in on the rainbow action.

Boulder County Pride, June 6 – 12

Colorado’s big and beautiful northern university town also has something colorful on tap for summer 2022. The Longmont Pride Festival is slated for June 11 and Boulder Pride June 12. (outboulder.org)

Avon, June 18

The higher elevations of Colorado shouldn’t be forgotten. Mountain Pride hosts its third year of Pride in the Park at Avon’s Nottingham Park, located in the stunning Rocky Mountains just west of Vail.

“We doubled in size last year and fingers crossed we double again,” says Pride in the Park organizer Madison Partridge. “We...hope to bring all surrounding communities from the mountains and beyond to celebrate for 2022.”

The event begins with morning yoga, followed by youth fashion shows, dog fashion shows, drag shows, music, food trucks, dance parties, and a parade around the park. (Facebook @MountainPrideCO)

Fort Collins Pride, July 15-16

About an hour’s drive north of Denver near the Wyoming border, the city of Fort Collins is rife with college energy, breweries, culture, live music, and open-minded appeal no matter when you visit, but the place especially knows how to get down for Pride. 

“Pride is not an event but rather a season around northern Colorado,” says NoCo Safespace founder Kimberly Chambers, who also oversees SPLASH Youth, Northern Colorado Equality, and helps coordinate NoCoPride.

Festivities are afoot in FoCo and NoCo (as locals abbreviate the region) throughout the summer in the form of Pride bike rides, concerts, drag brunches, and glitter shows. There will be Monday Mingle Pride sober meetings and a SPLASH Youth Pride week for children and families July 10-16. The NoCo Pride March is July 15 and Pride in the Park at City Park is on July 16. The core Pride weekend events are sponsored by craft beer pioneers New Belgium Brewery, who are releasing their very own Biere de Queer for the third year. (nocoequality.org)

New Belgium Brewery’s Biere de Queer

This piece initially appeared in Out Traveler print issue Summer 2022.