Uptown Charlotte! 

Parade 8/16/26   1 to 4 PM on Tryon

Festival and Parade Info @   Frequently Asked Questions - Charlotte Pride

Festival, Drag Show, Venders, Parade and More! 

Charlotte Pride Week, which includes a variety of celebratory Pride events all around the city, hosted by local businesses and organizations, runs Friday, Aug. 9 – Friday, Aug. 14.

2026 Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade Fact Sheet

Charlotte Pride 

• Charlotte Pride was founded in 2000 and held its first festival in 2001.

• Charlotte Pride held its first parade in 2013; in 2017, the Charlotte Pride Parade became the city’s largest annual parade, by number of entrants and marchers.

• Charlotte Pride now sees more than 200,000 festival weekend attendees, more than 200 contingents in the parade, with thousands of people marching in Charlotte’s largest parade.

• Annual events each year include the festival and parade, an interfaith service, and a variety of other social and community events leading up to the event.

• In addition to the annual Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade, Charlotte Pride presents several other events and activities throughout the year through its programs including the Charlotte Pride Job Fair, Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service & Programs, Reel Out Charlotte: The Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival, and the Charlotte Pride Scholarship & Internship Program, Generously Supported by Principal® Foundation, among others.

Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade – Event Details 

• Will take place August 15-16, 2026, on First Ward Park and surrounding streets in Uptown Charlotte

• The Charlotte Pride Parade route will run along Tryon Street in Uptown.

• Event set-up commences on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, closing portions of Brevard, 7th, and 8th Sts.

• Charlotte Pride Week, Aug. 7-14, precedes the Festival and Parade weekend, offering a full week of community events.

Financial Impact of the Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade Weekend

• $15.8 million in total economic impact

• $9.46 million in direct visitor spending

• $580,000 in Mecklenburg County taxes

• More than 200,000 visitors over the course of the weekend

• An estimated 30,000 out-of-town visitors

• Over 16,500 booked hotel room nights

Resources/Assets/Additional Information 

Charlotte Pride Online Resources 

• Website: charlottepride.org

• Facebook: facebook.com/cltpride

• Twitter: twitter.com/cltpride

• Instagram: instagram.com/cltpride

Charlotte Pride logos and event photos: 

https://charlottepride.org/mediacenter/

Photo Credits: Please credit the photographer and Charlotte Pride for any photograph used. 

Photographers’ names are included in each file name. Example: Photo by John Doe/Courtesy Charlotte Pride. 

?ŸŒˆ 2026 Charlotte Pride festival details

Charlotte Pride is a two-day festival that runs Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16.

The festival will run from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Pride parade will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The festival will be held at First Ward Park and surrounding streets in Charlotte’s Uptown neighborhood.

First Ward Park is located on the east side of Uptown, in the First Ward neighborhood. Uptown is Charlotte’s downtown community, located in the center of the city.