2025 Pride: Michigan’s 10 biggest festivals & events

Here’s your guide to Michigan’s 2025 Pride events happening all month long (and beyond!).

As Pride Month in June and International LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) Day approaches on June 28, we’re looking forward to all of Michigan’s biggest festivals and events celebrating the LGBQT+ communities and their allies. 

If you’re not familiar with the history of Pride Month, it started as a result of a June 28, 1969, police raid of Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York. Discriminatory raids of gay establishments were common at the time, but that night, lesbians, gay men, and drag queens joined together to fight back in a historic act of resistance dubbed the Stonewall Uprising. Now, Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor those who stood up for their rights.

To join in celebrating alongside the LGBTQ+, here are some of Michigan’s best and brightest 2025 Pride festivals, parades, and celebrations recognizing and elevating the community. 

1. Ferndale Pride

• When: Saturday, May 31
• Where: Downtown Ferndale
• Cost: Free admission

Ferndale Pride is Michigan’s largest free-admission Pride festival, with over 220 vendors that include both local businesses and community vendors.  The festival promises “something for everyone” and features three stages with live performances, a children’s area, and various dining options. High on our list of events to check out? The “Confetti Drop” is happening at 1 p.m. at the intersection of Allen Rd. and Nine Mile. Get ready to be showered in rainbow confetti to kick off a fun day of festivities!

You’ll also want to attend the opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. and stay for entertainment and vendors from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The nightly entertainment ends at 10:00 p.m. each evening. 

2. Motor City Pride

• When: June 7 and 8
• Where: Hart Plaza, Detroit
• Cost: $5, and online tickets are available (parade viewing is free)

As you may guess, because Motown never does anything small, the Motor City Pride event is Michigan’s single largest Pride event, attracting over 40,000 attendees. The Motor City Pride event celebrates Detroit’s role in gay rights, with the first march for LGBT rights held in downtown Detroit in 1972. Today, the weekend includes a vibrant parade, live entertainment, food vendors, and community booths. Admission to the overall weekend is $5, but parade viewing is free. Youth 12 and under are also free. 

If you can’t attend the full weekend, you may want to at least make time to check out the Pride Parade at noon on Sunday, June 8. Or, if you want to dive in and get as hands-on as possible during the event, sign up to be a volunteer! The entire weekend is volunteer-run, so volunteers willing to take on at least one four-hour shift (or more) are welcome.

3. Kzoo Pride 2025

• When: June 6-7
• Where: Arcadia Creek Festival Place, Kalamazoo
• Cost: 1 or 2-day pass with a “Pick Your Price” option

Kzoo Pride 2025 is a fundraising event for OutFront Kalamazoo’s LGBTQIA+ program, which provides vital programs, services, and resources to the LGBTQIA+ community all year long. (Hence the pick-your-own price option—the group is focused on inclusive offerings while trying to support the mission of supporting those who benefit from support.) 

Attendees can enjoy live music, drag performances, food vendors, and community booths. Plan on attending Friday evening to see the drag show and performances, and enjoy artists on Saturday, such as DJ Tribewalker, Cosmoknights, Nathan Moore Affair, Rebel Eves, and Baddie Brooks. There’s also an 18+ afterparty after the main festivities on Saturday. 

4. Muskegon Pride Festival

• When: June 7
• Where: Downtown Muskegon
• Cost: Free

We love Muskegon for getting involved in Pride Month by hosting its festival for the third year and counting. Don’t miss the event kick-off at 10:30 a.m., when the Pride Parade will start its path downtown Western Avenue. Then, continue the Pride Month fun by networking, exploring the work of local artists, sampling vendor foods and fares, and of course, enjoying live performances. 

Muskegon Pride notes that the day is “more than a celebration,” and a reminder to everyone to “stand for equality and inclusion.” The event is family-friendly and will also include children’s activities, poetry readings, and drag shows. The headlining act is TBA. 

5. Marquette Pride Fest

• When: Saturday, June 14, 12:00-9:30 p.m.
• Where: Ellwood Mattson Lower Harbor Park, Marquette
• Cost: Free

Taking place in historic downtown Marquette, this family-friendly event will have food vendors, merchandise, nonprofit resources, games, art activities, and drag shows. The event is put on by UP Rainbow Pride, a local 501(c)3 based out of Marquette, MI, whose mission is to provide resources and host local LGBTQIA+ activities and events.

One of this year’s headliners is Pride Fest fan favorite Beatrix (@beatrixtheband), who specializes in electric energy to get the crowd going. The event is also taking applicants for its Open Stage Draw show, so sign up today!

6. Grand Rapids Pride Festival

• When: June 21-22
• Where: Calder Plaza, Grand Rapids
• Cost: Free

Kicking off each day at noon, the Grand Rapids Pride Festival features live entertainment, food trucks, over 150 vendors, beer gardens (which will also have non-alcoholic beer), a sensory space, and a family area. The event is organized by the Grand Rapids Pride Center and has been an annual celebration since 1988, making this year its 37th year running. 

Volunteers are welcome at the Pride Festival, and a full entertainment schedule is forthcoming. In the past, celebrants often ended the night at The Apartment Lounge, Michigan’s oldest gay bar, Rumors Night Club, a dance and drag destination, and/or General Wood Shop, a cocktail bar curated for the queer community. All three post-event party spots are located within a 10-minute walk of Calder Plaza, where the main event is taking place.

7. Canton Pride OUTside

• When: Thursday, June 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Where: Heritage Park Amphitheater, Canton
• Cost: Free

This family-friendly event features guest speakers, live performances, local vendors, and community resources. It kicks off the Thursday Night LIVE Concert Series in Canton, Mich. 

Look forward to an event lineup that includes PRISM Gay Men and Allies Chorus Performance at 6 p.m, a Boylesque Michigan Family Friendly Drag Queen Performance at 6:30 p.m., and ending the night, The Crampton Brothers performing chart-topping hits at 7 p.m. Canton is also hosting pop-up Pride Month events all month long, such as Candle Making, a Pride Month Story Trail in Heritage Park (this event is ongoing through all of June!), and Pride Trivia Night at Maraschino’s Pub on June 21. 

8. Lansing Pride

• When: Saturday, June 28, 1 pm. to 10 p.m.
• Where: Downtown Lansing
• Cost: Free

Lansing Pride 2025 promises “non-stop entertainment” all day long, kicking off at 1 p.m. and featuring a parade, live entertainment, food vendors, and community booths. The event will be headlined by American Idol alumni Adore Delano. (There’s also a paid VIP photo booth experience with Delano for the fans—tickets are $25 and can be purchased online.) 

You can bring the whole family to this all-day event through the streets of Old Town and do everything from sample refreshing beers to dance and sing along to the live music to simply rocking your rainbow gear as an ally. There is a dedicated teen activity space, a children’s area with face painting, bubbles, balloon animals, sidewalk chalk, a lizard exhibit, and a sticker design competition, so bring all your creativity!

9. Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival

• When: Saturday, June 28
• Where: Jolt Event Park, Downtown Saginaw
• Cost: Free

The Great Lakes Region is celebrating many events all Pride Month long, such as a Yard Sign Campaign, Tea Dance, and Pride Night at the Loon’s game. But one of the largest Pride Month events is the Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival, a free, family-friendly event featuring vendors, community resource booths, live entertainment, and food trucks. The Festival has been operating for three years, and this year’s event is being held in a new location to expand the festival’s reach and introduce new programming.

You’ll want to be sure to check out this year’s Two-Spirit presentation as well as the after-party Drag Party at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort (tickets are required for the after-party).

10. Hotter Than July

• When: July 22 through July 27
• Where: Various locations in Detroit, culminating at Palmer Park
• Cost: Varies by event

Detroit’s Pride Month celebrations aren’t limited to June—the festivities continue into July with an entire week-long festival celebrating Detroit’s Summer Pride for the Black LGBTQ+ community. This year marks the 30th year of the Hotter Than July event. 

The week-long Black LGBTQ+ Pride celebration features daily events, such as a mixer,  candlelight vigil, boat party, film festival, educational conference, Sunday worship and brunch, and a large festival with live music and entertainment. Approximately 20,000 people attend this week-long festival, and you can mix and match events of your choosing.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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