Iowa City Pride

Iowa City Pride works to increase the positive visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community in Iowa City by creating opportunities to express and celebrate diverse perspectives, with an emphasis on acceptance regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Its annual Pride Festival & Parade fills downtown Iowa City for a day of music, a vendor fair and a parade that departs from College Green Park, and the festival has been free to attend since 1970. The 2026 festival ran from noon to 10 p.m. on June 20, and the next is set for June 19, 2027.

Through the year, Iowa City Pride hosts community events such as the Pride Ghost Hunt at Edinburgh Manor, and partners with FilmScene on Pride at FilmScene, a monthly series of new and classic LGBTQIA+ films. The Iowa City Pride Scholarship awards three $500 scholarships each year to openly LGBTQ2+ students graduating from high school or finishing a GED or home schooling who are headed to an accredited college, university or vocational school. The website also points to the Corridor LGBTQ+ Business Directory for Coralville, Iowa City and North Liberty and to the Iowa City Out History exhibit on local LGBTQ+ life.

The Pride board meets the third Sunday of every month at 3 p.m. at rotating locations, and members of the public are welcome to attend. Volunteers staff the festival each June and can earn help with required service hours, letters of recommendation and social media shout outs. Donations, which can be made online through Venmo or PayPal or by check, help keep the festival free.