South County Pride

South County Pride is run by the South County Pride Foundation, a 501(c)(3) in southern Rhode Island. Its annual parade and festival is held at the Contemporary Theater Company, with local vendors, live music, a DJ, family activities, and drag performances.

South County Pride began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when most Pride events in Rhode Island had been canceled. Magnolia Longworth, then a junior at South Kingstown High School, wanted a way to keep celebrating during lockdown. In 2021 she connected with Evan Travis over their shared interest in LGBTQ activism, and with help from their mentor, Sarah LeClair, and local organizations, the two organized a larger event within a few months. The supporters they gathered went on to form the South County Pride Foundation, a 501(c)(3).

From the start, the co-founders wanted a Pride focused on community, with familiar faces and local businesses, to show that southern Rhode Island has its own queer community and history. The foundation describes its values as local, intergenerational queer advocacy, and because the event was started by young people, it remains committed to youth-led activism and to amplifying the voices of queer high school students.

The foundation's mission is to work toward a future without discrimination by producing Pride events that educate and commemorate as well as celebrate, and by supporting leaders and organizations that remove barriers for LGBTQ+ people. Its website also points visitors to national resources such as the Movement Advancement Project and the National Center for Transgender Equality's know-your-rights guides.

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.

South County Pride has included parade, festival and drag performances.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held June 13, 2026. It usually falls mid June.