Pride Weekend, with the new festival theme “Roots in Rainbows,” is open to the public May 1-3 in downtown Norman with live music, vendors, food trucks and more.
Cort Fisher, treasurer of festival host Norman Pride, a nonprofit organization established in 2018 to support the local 2SLGBTQ+ community, said the goal of the festival is to show Norman is a safe space to be queer.
“Hosting these events throughout the community is just a way to show that there are safe spaces in Norman for the queer community,” Fisher said. “We feel led to provide those and show that there is support, and there are ways for people to come and be with like-minded people.”
Pride Weekend is Norman Pride’s signature event, strategically scheduled in May despite Pride month being recognized in June.
“We have ours at the beginning of May, so that we do give the opportunity for the students to attend a Pride festival,” Fisher said. “Speaking from personal experience, I come from a very small conservative town that did not have a Pride festival. So having that opportunity while I was at the university really would have helped me as a young queer person.”
The opening ceremony starts at 6 p.m. May 1 at Lazy Circles Brewing to kick off the main festival, which starts at noon May 2 at Andrews Park.
May 3 begins with a 5K at Ruby Grant Park at 8 a.m., followed by brunch at Legally Brewed, and the event ends with a parade.
The parade features student groups, businesses and political campaigns, all of which are up for awards such as the best overall, most creative, most colorful and most energetic entries. Float registration is available online.
The parade begins at 7 p.m. in downtown Norman. According to the Norman Pride website, the best place to watch is on Main Street between the train tracks and South Jones Avenue to South Crawford Avenue.
Fisher said many local businesses are partnering with Norman Pride to support the festival, including its biggest donor Fowler Automotive and local taproom Lazy Circles Brewing.
Lazy Circles Brewing has a special beer for Pride Weekend, with a Brew day where Norman Pride board members will help make the new brew.
At Pride Weekend and the rest of Norman Pride’s events, Fisher said being present is the goal — showing up to create safe spaces.
“Sometimes that's really all it takes is to just be present. And that's why we try to go to the Norman Art Walk every month and try to participate in other events,” Fisher said. “We will be at the Earth Day event that's coming up at the end of April, and we'll be at Norman Music Fest, supporting that festival. We try to be as present as possible.”
Vendor, entertainer and sponsor applications are available online. Pride Weekend is free and open to the public with an extra charge for brunch and 5K participants.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Kylie Caldwell and Tori Pham copy edited this story.
