PrideFest Milwaukee starts Thursday, June 6
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- PrideFest Milwaukee kicks off National LGBT Pride Month and Milwaukee's summer of festivals season this Thursday, June 6.
Milwaukee Pride will kick off their 32nd annual PrideFest Milwaukee opening ceremonies at the Dance Pavilion on Friday, June 7 at 2:30 p.m.
PrideFest Milwaukee 2019 features Kim Petras, Greyson Chance, Dragapalooza! (featuring Trixie Mattel) and over 120 acts on eight stages.
Four-day weekend passes to PrideFest Milwaukee 2019 are $40 through June 5 and include access to all shows, on all stages, all weekend long. Single day and VIP tickets are also available. For ticket information click here.
As a non-profit event, PrideFest Milwaukee relies heavily on ticket revenue to secure its future. However, the festival has offered a number of reduced or free admission programs this year, including:
• Donating 1,000 tickets to Wisconsin gay-straight alliances, to ensure LGBTQ youth can participate free of charge;
• Offering a Proud Pioneers discount to seniors aged 65 or older ($5 admission before 5 p.m. daily;)
• Providing active and veteran military complimentary admission for themselves and a plus one, all weekend long;
• Supporting the Fests Feed Milwaukee annual food drive, benefitting ARCW food pantry, which offers a buy one, get one ticket in exchange for 4 non-perishable canned goods.
To increase community access to PrideFest Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Pride Board of Directors is also offering free admission with a $1 donation per person to the PrideFest Plus One Campaign. The offer will only be valid on Friday, June 7 between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
This year's campaign supports the UWM LGBT Resource Center.
PrideFest Milwaukee will also recognize the individuals, organizations, and corporations for significant achievement towards the advance of the LGBTQ struggle for equality with the 2019 Pride Awards.
The nominees for the 2019 Pride Awards include:
• Individual: Elle Halo, award-winning community health champion, activist, navigator, writer and performer, whose relentless fight for local transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people invokes the revolutionary spirit of Stonewall itself
• Ally: Karen Dettmer of the City of Milwaukee, who advocated for the Rainbow Crosswalks Initiative, overcame bureaucractic red tape and roadblocks, and ultimately implemented the city's first permanent, visible monument for LGBTQ people
• Organization: Bi+ Pride Milwaukee, for restoring the long-silent "B" to the local LGBTQ community through online awareness campaigns, outreach events and social outings that support bisexual identity
• Valor: Nat Werth of Sheboygan, whose high school silenced his valedictorian graduation speech for containing LGBTQ content
• Legacy: Mark Mariucci, 25-year publisher of QUEST magazine and former owner of ZA's Videobar in Green Bay, for his lifetime commitment to the Wisconsin LGBTQ community.