Grand Rapids Pride Center is thrilled to welcome everyone back for an in-person Pride Festival this year! Some things will look different from previous years, and some will look similar to what you’re used to. Some of the changes are Covid-19 precautions you are likely used to now, and some are changes are for the better (like that Pride is free this year!) Here are some essential things you should be aware of to better prepare for Pride before you come down:

• Yes, Pride will be FREE for everyone this year. We are happy to take donations to help us maintain services. Please visit one of the three information/security/accessibility booths if you are interested in donating, or you can do so anytime online at grpride.org/donate
• This year’s Pride Festival will still be at Calder Plaza, but we will not have a fence around it because it is free. This also makes it more easily walkable and more accessible for various abilities. Unfortunately, this also means that protesters may have easier access as well. While we are doing our best to manage that issue, we want you to be aware and alert. Please report any issues to our security team.
• We will have private professional security teams! The Pride Festival Committee has contracted with 2 local LGBTQ+-owned private professional security services to provide security for the event. These are trained security professionals who also care personally about the safety and particular needs of LGBTQ+ people. If you have any concerns, we encourage you to reach out to a security team member. There will be three booths spread throughout the Festival, and roaming security.

• • The Grand Rapids Pride Center remains in solidarity with our most impacted and historically silenced community members (BIPOC, trans, disabled, etc.) and our stance is that police don’t belong at Pride and aren’t welcome in our space. The City of Grand Rapids mandates that in order to obtain a permit for events, organizers must accept that the GRPD has the right to decide if they will staff the event as well. The GRPD makes their determination based on their own concerns around the size and scope of the event, the community it serves, and potential perceived safety issues.
  • As of 6/10/2022, Grand Rapids Pride Center is pleased to be able to announce that the Grand Rapids Police Department has decided not to be present at the Grand Rapids Pride Festival.
• There will be three tables throughout the Pride Festival that will serve as combined Information/Security/Accessibility booths. The folks staffing these booths can help you with:
  • Information about the Grand Rapids Pride Center & our services
  • Information about the Pride Festival schedule of events
  • Cold water
  • Free earplugs
  • A low-cost rainbow surgical mask to help you stay safe & support the Pride Center
  • Get information on disability accessibility issues & provisions at the Pride Festival
  • Register a concern or complaint about accessibility so that we can plan better for next year
  • Get security assistance
  • And more!
• This year’s Pride Festival is a smoke-free and vape-free event. While the Grand Rapids Pride Center in no way judges our community member’s personal habits, we also know that smoking and vaping have adverse secondhand impacts. Smoking and vaping also dramatically increase the risks of contracting Covid, having adverse outcomes of Covid, and smoking and vaping make it difficult to wear a mask which therefore also increases the risks of exposure for the smoker and others to Covid during such a crowded event. The entirety of the Pride Festival grounds is a no-smoking/no-vaping area, but you are welcome to smoke outside its perimeters if you must. There will also be a table from our Tobacco-Free Partners for those interested in LGBTQ+-centered cessation resources.
• Pride Festival is open to ALL LGBTQ+ people, so please be aware that we are a diverse community. While there are aspects of the events that are family-friendly and children are certainly welcome, the Festival does not cater exclusively to children and we do not censor the expression of attendees either. Please be aware that children will be exposed to the full diverse sartorial and aesthetic display of our wonderful community. Pride Festival began as a riot for the right to be our true selves, and remains an opportunity to celebrate ourselves in our full glory. The Grand Rapids Pride Center firmly asserts that LGBTQ+ outsiders, including kink communities, belong at Pride Festival, as they are who Pride originated with and for. We would also like to remind everyone that there are straight people under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. There is no place for transphobia, bi/panphobia, anti-ace perspectives, or ignorance of the struggles of intersex members of our community. Additionally, racism, anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, antisemitism, fatmisia, ableism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiments, ageism, and other such hatred have no place at Pride either.
• Here are some other things you should prepare for:
  • We strongly recommend/require wearing a mask at all times when not eating or drinking during Pride Festival in order to reduce the risk of Covid exposure and transmission. We also strongly recommend testing prior to the festival and not attending if you test positive OR if you have symptoms of Covid or any other illness.
  • Reduce waste by bringing your own water bottle so you can refill it at the water stations. Don’t forget to hydrate, as it will be hot!
  • Don’t forget to carry extra medications you may need, such as insulin, allergy meds, your inhaler, etc.
  • Please drink responsibly, and be aware that our servers are trained & authorized to cut people off when they feel it is appropriate to do so. Please treat them with respect.
  • Bring sunblock and don’t forget to reapply it as needed to avoid sunburn.
  • The Grand Rapids Pride Center asserts that only relationships that involve proper consent and that are based on dynamics where appropriate consent is possible are valid. Please be mindful of seeking and obtaining consent for any touching or pursuing of romantic or other interest. Please do not attempt to take advantage of underage, intoxicated, or otherwise uninterested attendees. If you are uncomfortable with excessive attention you are receiving or feel someone is attempting to take advantage of you, or you witness someone being taken advantage of, please reach out to a security team member.
• Some Notes on Accessibility:
  • There will be ASL interpreters for the performances
  • Earplugs will be available (free) from any of the three Information/Security/Accessibility booths.
    • For those who may find the noise of the event to be a bit much, we recommend grabbing a pair.
  • There are 40 Port-a-Potties, and 4 wheelchair accessible Port-a-Potties.
    • The wheelchair accessible ones are located at the food court area (2), beer garden area, and Lyon/Ionia area.
  • There will be a sensory area at the Fifth Third building on Ottawa/Lyon.
    • There are both staircase and ramp access to the area, and the building height shields the tented area from the worst noise of the Pride Fest as well as providing some shade from the sun.
    • The sensory area will include fidget toys and other activities for folks who need to “get away” from being overstimulated by the event. Along with Festival volunteers at all times who will maintain COVID safety and keep the area clean & sanitized, there will also be a therapist and medic available there at most times.
    • We do request that people respect the intention of this area and do not “bring the party” to this space, please.
  • There will be therapists and medics available most of the day at the Information/Security/Accessibility booths – if you are experiencing feeling triggered, unsafe, or a medical condition, please reach out.
  • There will be water coolers available throughout the entire festival, and you are encouraged to bring your own water bottle to refill as needed to stay hydrated.
  • The Festival area has been redesigned to offer a more walkable area and greater space for wheelchair and other mobility aids as well as all bodies to safely and comfortably get around.
  • We know that we were not able to address every accessibility measure that we wanted to this year, and that it is also a learning and evolving practice. If you have any concerns or issues about accessibility at Pride Fest this year, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator, Aaminah Shakur, aaminah.shakur@grpride.org.
  • Your concerns are taken very seriously and will help us in planning for all future events. Thank you.