CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of Charlotte's largest street festivals returns this weekend.
The Charlotte Pride Festival, celebrating the triumphs of the LGBTQ community, happens Saturday from noon until 10 p.m. in Uptown Charlotte. The festival and a parade continue Sunday from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Road closures
Multiple roads will be closed in Uptown Charlotte because of the festival and events.
South Tryon Street closed Friday from Morehead Street to Fourth Street to accommodate setup. That closure expands all along South Tryon Street from Morehead Street to 12th Street this weekend.
Many of the cross streets will also be closed.
Officials encourage the use of CATS public transit, including the CityLynx Blue Line train, and ride-sharing services to navigate the closures.
There will be a large presence of CMPD officers who will be working around the clock to make sure the event goes smoothly.
“We expect about 300,000 people to come here -- that’s a lot of people to come to a parade and festival anywhere," Lieutenant Dondi Pogue said. "We had a safe festival last year. A lot of planning went into in that and a lot went into this, and you are not going to be able to take many steps without seeing an officer this weekend."
CMPD reminds people to be vigilant during the festivities, saying if you see something say something.
Why in August
Pride Month is celebrated in the United States in June. Since 2001, Charlotte has held pride events in August.
The August date was initially chosen to avoid conflict with pride events happening in other cities.
The annual parade is the largest hosted in the Queen City. In 2022, 275,000 people attended the events. It was estimated the event generated $8 million in revenue last year.
As the event continues to grow, those behind the festival said they are grateful to have a safe space to celebrate and support the LGBTQ-plus community.
"Pride really means visibility and celebratory togetherness… times have been really hard," said Liz Schob with the festival. "It is important to take intentional moments like this and really celebrate joy and the things we can really come together about and to also galvanize us because there is a lot of work to do.”
Extended interviews
"It couldn't be more timely, because we all just need to kind of come together and have a moment of joy," Liz Schob, communication managers of Charlotte Pride, told WCNC Charlotte's Ben Thompson on Flashpoint, which airs this weekend on WCNC Charlotte television and the WCNC+ streaming app.
"We have over 40 floats, 200 entries and almost 10,000 people that we anticipate marching," Daniel Valdez, director of Charlotte Pride, said.