Gettysburg Pride 2026

Looking Ahead to Next Year

9/5/2026

This year gave us Pride 250: A New Birth of Freedom, a festival built around our Three Stepping Stones to Freedom framework connecting 1776, 1863, and today's Pride movement. Nearly 40 vendors joined us. We had a community activity center for all agers. Live music performed at the Amphitheater. And the weekend ended with the Gettysburg Connection Award for Best Festival. It was a milestone year, and we are already planning how to build on it.
Planning for next year is underway, and we wanted to share a first look at what is coming. Friday evening will open with our Pride Walk, along with additional activities throughout the night. The full lineup is still being finalized, so check back here as details are confirmed.
We are also continuing conversations about new elements for the weekend, including a dog drag parade, expanded vendor space, and more ways for the community to get involved before the festival even begins. Gettysburg Pride has grown every year since 2017, from a small gathering of friends to a festival that draws hundreds of people and national attention.

Next year is no exception. We are building something worth looking forward to, and we want you to be part of it from the start. Stay tuned for updates on dates, the Friday evening schedule, and more. In the meantime, thank you for being part of what makes Gettysburg Pride a community worth celebrating.

Gettysburg Pride Matters: Calling-In for Conversation

5/18/2026

Our post in the wonderful Facebook group Gettysburg PA Community - Support Local is getting quite popular… for a lot of interesting reasons.

And honestly? This, dear community, is exactly why Pride still matters.
Pride has never been just a party.

Pride began as protest. Pride began because LGBTQ+ people were excluded, silenced, criminalized, and told we didn’t belong. And judging by many of the comments we’re seeing, alongside the very real challenges facing queer and especially trans folks across the country today, we are constantly reminded that work is far from finished.

We’ve also heard thoughtful feedback from members of our own LGBTQ+ community who feel uneasy about Pride being connected to America 250 celebrations. Those feelings are valid. Many queer people, particularly trans people, queer people of color, immigrants, and others, have complicated or painful relationships with American institutions and history.

Pride has always held many truths at once. Like each of us.

Our existence, celebration, and grief do not happen in a vacuum.

For some, Pride honors progress and hard-won freedoms.
For others, Pride is protest, resistance, and a call for change.

We strive to break the binary and to hold space for our community to express everything that makes me, me, and you, you!

Some show up carrying only a Pride flag, or no flag at all, because their experience of this country includes harm as well as hope.

Both realities belong here.

Gettysburg Pride is not asking anyone to perform patriotism.
We are asking people to show up as their authentic selves, and we’ll do our part to foster the space for you to do that in.

Bring an American flag.
Bring a Pride flag.
Bring both.
Bring neither.

Bring your joy.
Bring your grief.
Your resistance.
Your hope.

What unites us is community.

In a moment when LGBTQ+ rights are actively debated, restricted, and politicized across the United States, simply gathering openly, safely, and visibly as queer folks and allies remains powerful. The conversations happening right now both online and off – supportive, critical, passionate, uncomfortable – are all proof that Pride is still necessary.

Pride is space for celebration.
Pride is space for protest.
Pride is space for healing.
Pride is space for belonging.

Gettysburg Pride exists because our community exists, in all its diversity of experience, identity, and perspective.

We welcome you exactly as you are.

🌈 See you at Pride.

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Pride 250: A New Birth of Freedom

5/11/2026

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Gettysburg's 10th annual Pride festival connects the LGBTQ+ freedom movement to the founding ideals of the nation on its 250th birthday, May 29 through 31, 2026

GETTYSBURG, PA., May 10, 2026. Gettysburg Pride, Inc. will present Pride 250: A New Birth of Freedom, the 10th annual Gettysburg Pride festival, from May 29 through 31, 2026. Recognized as an official component of America 250 Pennsylvania, the event will bring together national voices, local community leaders, musicians, performers, and families for a three-day celebration at the site of one of the most consequential moments in American history.

The festival takes as its theme the idea that the rights affirmed in the Declaration of Independence, the promise renewed in the Gettysburg Address, and the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ equality are chapters in a single American story of ever-increasing inclusion. With the nation marking its 250th birthday and Gettysburg Pride marking its tenth year, organizers say this is a moment to stand at that crossroads.

“The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all people are endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Gettysburg Address reminded us that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," said Florence March, President of Gettysburg Pride. "That proposition is still being tested. The Constitution is our anchoring tool as we work toward inclusion for all. Gettysburg Pride 250 is continuing that work."

The weekend opens Friday evening, May 29, with a community Pride Walk through downtown Gettysburg with a kick-off by Mayor Alison Lintal. The walk begins at the Gettysburg Area Middle School parking lot. At 7 PM, Pride 250 Showcase at the Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg, a celebration of music, storytelling, and drag showcases local performers in a free evening of entertainment.

On Saturday, May 30, the main festival will be held in the Amphitheater area of the Gettysburg Area Recreation Park from 11:30 AM to 7 PM, with a large vendor area, expanded all-ages programming in the Pride Activity Hub, and a full day of entertainment at the Amphitheater.

The Opening Ceremony, "Pride 250: A New Birth of Freedom," at 12 noon will feature speakers whose work spans military service, Indigenous studies, music education, and disability advocacy. Community Minister Bright will open the ceremony with a blessing. Dr. Stephanie Sellers, a Native American Studies educator from Gettysburg College, will speak on Land Acknowledgement and Two-Spirit people. Major General Gale S. Pollock, U.S. Army (Ret.), former Acting Surgeon General of the United States Army and an advocate for transgender rights in the military, will deliver remarks tracing the arc from the Declaration of Independence to the Gettysburg Address continuing in the Pride movement.

Choral performances by the Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg and Cadence Treble Chorus will anchor the ceremony throughout. Dr. Kyle Weary will speak on Gettysburg's journey to inclusion. Florence March will share why the Constitution of the United States is important to the Pride Movement. The Opening Ceremony will close with a community singing of "This Little Light of Mine."

Saturday's Main Stage will also feature performances by Honey on the Rocks, the Cadence Treble Chorus, and Mood Indigo followed by a dance party on the lawn at the Amphitheater.

The Pride Activity Hub will offer hands-on creative programming, family activities, and wellness-centered resources throughout the day. Hosted in partnership with Root and Bloom Community Nature Collective, the Hub will feature pride storytimes, music circles led by Tonality Music Therapy, zine and button-making workshops, interactive art activities, community resources, and a dedicated sensory calm space designed to support accessibility and inclusion.

The Hub reflects Gettysburg Pride's commitment to creating a celebration where families, youth, and community members of all ages can participate fully in Pride.

The vendor area will feature everything from food trucks, arts and crafts, jewelry and clothing, and Pride accessories, to local nonprofits and advocacy groups.

Saturday evening brings three simultaneous events. The Adams County Arts Council at 125 S. Washington Street will host An Evening with Royalty, a drag show featuring Amethyst Diamond. The Gettysburg Community Theater will screen the film "But I'm a Cheerleader."

The weekend concludes Sunday, May 31, with a donation-based community yoga practice from 1 to 2 PM on the amphitheater lawn at the Recreation Park.

Gettysburg Pride, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Pride 250 is supported by volunteers, donors, and the broader Adams County community. For the full event schedule, ticketing information, volunteer opportunities, and sponsorship details, visit GettysburgPride.org.

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Gettysburg Pride Blog

Looking Ahead to Next Year

Gettysburg Pride Matters: Calling-In for Conversation

Pride 250: A New Birth of Freedom

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