Outer Banks Pridefest

OBX Pridefest is a Pride weekend on the Outer Banks. The free, family-friendly festival on Saturday, September 12, 2026 featured bands, drag performers, local restaurants and vendors, with other community events across the September 11 to 13 weekend.

OBX Pride, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) that has produced the Outer Banks Pride Festival every year since 2011, drawing nearly 2,000 visitors to the beaches of Dare County. It aims to enrich cultural life for both residents and vacationers, and it produces LGBTQIA+ Pride events across the Outer Banks meant to educate, inspire and honor the community on what organizers call their sandbar.

The main festival is free, with adult beverages available alongside the bands, drag and local restaurants. Other Pride Week events are ticketed, and the organization is funded entirely by ticket sales, grants and community contributions. Visitors can book at the host hotel, the Comfort Inn, or through host rental company KEES Vacation Rentals at discounted festival rates, and local businesses can sign up to host their own Pride-friendly events.

Part of what the group raises goes back to the community through donations to organizations such as OBX Shred Fest, Dare2Care and the Cape Hatteras Food Pantry, and it works with local groups such as Hotline to make LGBTQ resources and helplines easier to reach. The 2025 festival was headlined by Mrs. Kasha Davis of RuPaul's Drag Race.

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.

Outer Banks Pridefest has included festival, beach party, live music, drag performances and vendors.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held September 11-13, 2026. It usually falls second weekend of September.