Metro East Pride Fest

Metro East Pride Fest is a free, family-friendly festival in downtown Belleville celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community of Southwestern Illinois and the St. Louis region. It is run by Metro East Pride of Southwestern Illinois, an all-volunteer 501(c)(3). The day has included vendors, food, entertainment, a high heel drag race and a drag show.

Metro East Pride Fest traces back to a small group of women who wanted to celebrate diversity with a party and barbecue outside Club Escapade in Belleville. Club owners Rick Hembree and Harold Schwartz, along with the group Metro East Gays and Straights, helped plan the first event, held on June 21, 2008, at 2nd Street and West Main. About 1,000 people attended, and speakers included the mayor and representatives from local government.

The organization was incorporated in 2010 as Metro East Pride of Southwestern Illinois, with the main purpose of holding an annual festival. For the fifth festival it added a Pride Glow March that ran from the Belleville Public Library down Main Street and through the square to Club Escapade, with the board and members of the local PFLAG chapter taking part. That year's festival drew an estimated 3,000 people and more than 50 booths.

The group's stated mission is to encourage unity, celebrate diversity, promote equality and advocate for inclusion of LGBTQIA people across Southwestern Illinois and the St. Louis area. Along with the festival, it runs cultural and educational programs, shares resources and hosts social activities in the Metro East.

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.

Metro East Pride Fest has included festival, drag, high heel race and vendors.

The next edition is October 3, 2026. It usually falls first Saturday of October.