River City Pride Parade and Festival

River City Pride holds a parade and festival in downtown Evansville each June. The 2026 day began with a noon parade and continued with a festival of more than 120 local vendor booths, food trucks, live music, DJs and drag headliners. Sensory spaces and children's inflatables were part of the site.

River City Pride was founded in 2019 by members of the local LGBTQIA+ community to serve the Evansville region through leadership development, educational programs and community events. Its mission is to unite, educate and serve the LGBTQIA+ community, and its vision is a safe haven that advocates for equality and equity.

Beyond the June parade and festival, the group runs events such as the Pride in Every Drop blood drive and the River City Rainbow Run, which give people more ways to connect during the year. The 2026 festival's drag headliners were Kerri Colby of RuPaul's Drag Race and Throb Zombie of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula.

The festival is a public event open to all. To keep it safe and enjoyable, unauthorized solicitation, handing out materials and proselytizing are not allowed, and every vendor, nonprofit and organization must register and be approved in advance. Volunteers sign up ahead of time to help run the parade and festival.

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.

River City Pride Parade and Festival has included parade, festival, vendors, food trucks, kids area and sensory space.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held June 6, 2026. It usually falls first Saturday of June.