Amherst Pride Parade and Celebration

Amherst Pride is a town-run parade and celebration. The one-mile parade runs from Amherst-Pelham Regional High School to the Amherst Town Common, where a resource fair, performances, and a market with local vendors follow.

Amherst Pride is hosted by the Amherst Pride Volunteers together with the Town of Amherst Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Amherst Business Improvement District. Its stated aims are to honor the diversity and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community, raise visibility and connect people with resources and support. The day combines a parade, a rally and a community resource fair.

The parade steps off at noon from Amherst-Pelham Regional High School on Mattoon Street, heads west along Mattoon and Triangle Streets to the roundabout near Kendrick Park, then turns south on Pleasant Street to the Town Common. Marching groups can check in from 11 a.m. and line up by assigned group number in the school parking lot, and sign-making supplies are available before the start. The route is closed to traffic, police direct vehicles, and parade marshals in orange vests help participants along the way.

Marchers can park at the high school and middle school, while people heading straight to the Common are directed to the Amherst College Alumni lot. Floats and vehicles end at the Common, and nothing may be thrown from them. Organizers ask groups to stay calm and avoid engaging with any hecklers so the day stays peaceful.

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.

Amherst Pride Parade and Celebration has included parade, resource fair, performances and vendor market.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held June 28, 2026. It usually falls last Sunday of June.