PrideFest 2023 will celebrate LGBTQ life amid increasing threats

Organizers of PrideFest 2023 expect more than 300,000 people to flood downtown St. Louis this weekend for the two-day event, which culminates in a parade Sunday afternoon.

The festival is the best-attended celebration of LGBTQ communities in St. Louis. It will include hundreds of vendors and nonprofit organizations, plus a lineup of performers topped by Kat Graham and Betty Who on Saturday, followed by Idina Menzel and Cece Peniston on Sunday.

Other performers include the Gateway Men’s Chorus, the St. Louis Drag Revue and Divas of the Grove.

The event comes after a recent wave of legislation supported by Republican lawmakers that targets LGBTQ people, and trans people in particular.

“With the context of how things are going right now, people are very scared or are nervous,” said Morgan Morris, secretary of Pride St. Louis, which organizes PrideFest. “The idea for this event is that we can help people see other people that are them, or at least get them connected to like-minded people. We want there to be more visibility. The idea is to empower.”