Indy Pride holding virtual festival in June for 2nd consecutive year

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Pride Festival is going virtual for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pride month festivities will include six virtual events and one outdoor, in-person event.

This year's Indy Pride events include: 

• May 21 at 7 p.m. — DJs & Drinks: Indy Pride Launch Party (IndyPride.org/Live)
• June 3 at 6:30 p.m. — Ballroom History & Culture Panel Discussion (Facebook Live)
• June 4 at 7 p.m. — Deaf Pride 2021 Presented by Lilly (IndyPride.org/Live)
• June 11 at 5 p.m. — Shabbat with Pride (virtual)
• June 11 at 8 p.m. — Pride Night at the Drive-In (Tibbs Drive-In Theatre)
• June 12 at 12 p.m. — Indy Pride 2021 Virtual Festival Presented by Salesforce (IndyPride.org/Live)
• June 25 at 7 p.m. — DJs & Drinks: Bi & Pan Pride (Facebook Live)

“It’s challenging to create engaging virtual content after 18 months of virtual events, but our team is aiming to reproduce the most important aspect of our annual festival [in addition to the entertainment, of course]—connection,” Indy Pride Executive Director Chris Handberg said in a press release.

RELATED: Indy Pride cancels virtual Pride Month events, breaks ties with police in support of BLM

Nearly all of last year's Pride Month virtual events were canceled as the organization stood in solidarity with protesters in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Indy Pride also severed ties with police departments for security purposes for its future events. Instead, the organization will work with private security firms. Police departments will only be used to assist in blocking traffic, which is mandated by the city.

In 2019, nearly 50,000 people attended the Indy Pride Festival, making it the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ people and allies in Indiana.

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