Alton Pride Festival

The Alton Pride Festival is a free street festival on Belle Street in historic downtown Alton, in the Metro East across the river from St. Louis. It includes vendor booths, food trucks, live music, drag performances, drag bingo and a pup parade. Alton Pride also runs events and scholarships during the year.

Alton Pride began about five years ago when a small group of volunteers set out to organize a Pride event in Alton. It is now a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization focused on awareness, understanding and advocacy for LGBTQ+ people in the Riverbend region. A volunteer board serving two-year terms runs the group, meeting monthly, and each board member leads a subcommittee of volunteers.

The festival is free and begins at 11 a.m. in front of Bubby and Sissy's, a bar and nightclub on Belle Street, running until 7 p.m. Vendor and food truck booths are assigned in the order payments arrive, and volunteers help with setup, festival support and teardown across the whole weekend.

Beyond the festival, Alton Pride awards high school scholarships, holds a Thanksgiving food drive, hosts regular community events and marches in the city's Halloween parade. The group also crowns its own royalty, a king and queen who represent Alton Pride through the year.

Pride events celebrate LGBTQ+ people and mark the Stonewall uprising of June 1969. Most combine a parade or march with a festival of performers, community groups, vendors and food.

Alton Pride Festival has included festival, drag, live music, vendors and pup parade.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held September 12, 2026. It usually falls second Saturday of September.