Battle Creek Pride Festival

Battle Creek Pride holds a four-day Pride festival week each July. The main festival at Leila Arboretum has nearly a hundred vendors, food trucks, drag performances, and live music, followed by an afterglow party for ages 18 and up. A Pride Parade on Michigan Avenue comes the evening before the festival day.

Battle Creek Pride describes itself as a safe and inclusive space that advocates for the rights and well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities. Its stated mission is to serve, support, educate and unite the 2SLGBTQ+ community, with an emphasis on dignity and respect for everyone regardless of orientation, gender identity, race or background.

The festival week is one part of a larger year-round effort. The organization offers support groups, educational workshops and a resource center, with help ranging from emotional support to guidance on navigating systems and tools for advocacy. It welcomes allies as well as 2SLGBTQ+ people, and its work is funded in part by grant donations and by the sponsors of Pride Festival Week. Its programs aim to build solidarity and understanding and to create chances for learning and growth.

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.

Battle Creek Pride Festival has included parade, festival, afterglow party, trivia and drag shows.

Battle Creek Pride Festival was first held in 2010.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held July 16-19, 2026. It usually falls mid-July, a four-day festival week.