Uniting Pride of Champaign County announced the dates and theme for the 2021 Champaign-Urbana PrideFest and Parade.
C-U Pridefest will be held the weekend of Sept. 24-26. After a year of isolation due to COVID-19 and to recognize the significance of the 40-year anniversary of the HIV/AIDS crisis, this year's theme is "What the Health? Fighting, Surviving, Thriving."
The Pridefest Committee will release the details for the parade, vendor area and educational and social events as details are confirmed. As in the past, the parade will take place on Saturday and is free and family-friendly celebration of love for all.
While last year was an all-virtual event, this year will have an emphasis on in-person celebrations.
Along with the Pride Parade and vendor fair, there will be educational workshops, youth and family programming, and other events. The Pridefest Committee is also collaborating with Pygmalion to co-host performances by LGBTQ+ artists and entertainers during Pride weekend. The long-running arts and culture event will be held the same weekend as Pride. Pride programming will be held in various venues across Urbana, Campustown and Champaign.
Parade, vendor and sponsor applications are available at www.unitingpride.org/sponsorship. For more about events, visit www.unitingpride.org/pride-2021.