Pride: Durham, NC

Pride: Durham, NC is a week of Pride events organized by the LGBTQ Center of Durham, continuing the tradition of the statewide NC Pride held in Durham. The 2026 week runs September 27 to October 3 and ends with a community protest and parade at Duke East Campus. Other events include a vendor and food truck rodeo, a multi-faith worship service, a Pride bike ride, queer history tours and a family picnic.

The LGBTQ Center of Durham opened in 2015 with a goal of being a front porch for the LGBTQ community and serving all of Durham, with priority on those most marginalized. Founder Helena Cragg led it until 2019, when J. Clapp, the founder of Pride: Durham, NC, took over. After an interim period, the board moved to a shared leadership model under co-executive directors Raye Dooley and Vanity Reid Deterville. The center is now back at its original Hunt Street location downtown.

The 2026 theme, Always Forward, Never Straight: Preserving History, Coming Home, marked 45 years since Our Day Out, North Carolina's first LGBTQ+ march in June 1981, held in response to the killing of Ronald "Sonny" Antonevitch. The center works with local history partners to preserve community stories.

The week's program has included a vendor and food truck rodeo in Durham Central Park with more than 100 food trucks and community tables, free STI testing at the center, a gathering at Duke Gardens, a group bike ride from Crank Arm Durham, an event with the Southern Queer Survivors Network, and a Queer History of Durham tour organized with Preservation Durham, the Pauli Murray Center and the Museum of Durham History. The closing parade draws nearly 100 community groups.

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.

Pride: Durham, NC has included parade, protest march, vendor and food truck rodeo, worship service, bike ride, history tours and family picnic.

The next edition is September 27 to October 3, 2026. It usually falls last week of September into early October.