20+ Ways to Celebrate Pride Month in Greater Philadelphia for 2022

Dates and times vary

Nothing pairs with an ice-cold mimosa quite like a spit-your-OJ-out drag performance. Grab your handkerchief and check out a sampling of this month’s drag brunches:

Dates and times vary

When the sun goes down, Philly venues get colorful thanks to our wildly talented (and sometimes just plain wild) drag performers. On the docket for Pride Month:

Dates and times vary

Go ahead, treat yourself! You can feel good about indulging in any one of these food-and-drink specials during Pride Month:

Through Wednesday, June 30, 2022

In addition to the massive rainbow flag welcoming guests outside the hotel — you truly can’t miss it! — the Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square transforms its lobby in June into Philadelphia’s LGBTQ Hall of Flags, where locally made flags celebrating gender fluidity, bisexuality, pansexuality, transgender pride, lesbian pride and binary pride hang in, well, pride.

June 2022 (dates vary)

Expand your horizons with a Philly Gayborhood and LGBTQ History Tour , which promises to “get under the skin of queer Philly.” That includes info about the controversies, paradoxes and hidden histories of the community. Expect to learn about the nation’s longest continually operating LGBTQ-focused book store, the work of activists like Kiyoshi Kuromiya, Gloria Casarez and Barbara Gittings, and the history of Pride itself. And for the month of June only, Beyond the Bell is offering a City of Pride Tour via a trolley that starts and ends at The Bourse in Old City. On Fridays and Saturdays, tour participants can bring their own bottle to imbibe in as they learn all about Philly’s LGBTQ history. The tour-hour jaunt around town also features live music by various LGBTQ entertainers.

Don your best orchestra look and grab your tickets for a free (yes, free, but still ticketed) performance with music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra to honor the area’s LGBTQ community. There will be musical contributions from Canadian violinist Blake Pouliot, the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus and Martha Graham Cracker.

Thursday, June 2, 2022 | 8 p.m. & 9:45 p.m.

Whether you’re obsessed with watching Philly comedy sets or you’re a total newbie, this showcase has plenty of fresh material to offer. The show includes a range of LGBTQ comics, some familiar to the local scene and some new faces.

The City of Philadelphia’s annual Flag Raising event is a Philly Pride tradition. The city honors LGBTQ communities with a formal flag-raising ceremony featuring several speakers.

Ship ahoy! This boat party on the Moshulu includes access to four decks with four different DJs — which means four dance floors to groove on as you pretend you’re headed off to sea. The festivities serve as a 50th-anniversary celebration of Pride Philadelphia and as a kickoff party for Pride 2022.

Reimagined for 2022, Philly’s PHL Pride March & Festival is part of PHL Pride 50 — celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Pride Day in Philadelphia, which took place in 1972. The weekend celebration culminates with a community march through Center City and a Pride festival in the Gayborhood on Sunday, June 5, beginning at 11 a.m. Instead of a parade, a community march departs from Independence Mall at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 5. Immediately following the march, the PHL Pride Festival kicks off in the Gayborhood at noon.

June 3-24, 2022 (Fridays only)

If you’re artistically minded, the weekly Queer Drawing Nights at Cherry Street Pier are a steal at just $15 a pop. Sessions include all figure drawing materials (charcoal, pencil, paper and eraser), plus a portion of the ticket sales go to the Mazzoni Center.

This massive indoor and outdoor party at Cavanaugh’s River Deck seems like the perfect daytime fête to let loose. (It’s billed as an “outdoor LGBTQIA+ adventure,” so really how could you go wrong?) Jay La Tay hosts the festivities, and DJs include DJ Queen of Spades and Deluxx the OG. Activities may or may not include a wet T-shirt contest and a Twerkfest.

We don’t know what the party scene will look like in Philly in 2069, but we’re willing to believe it might be something like this “cyberpunk” rave . Join this tech-infused, laser-filled dance party for a glimpse into the future (if you dare) headlined by DJ Guy Scheiman.

The Please Touch Museum is once again hosting fun family events to celebrate Pride . This year’s activities include a pop-up rainbow arts and crafts station using nail polish and oil pastels, a storytime session with the book, Julián Is a Mermaid , plus a multi-colored collage workshop with artist Kara Mshinda, among other events.

This open-to-all Pride Ride in Manayunk begins at 9 a.m. and celebrates the local LGBTQ community. Bring yourself and your bike, and enjoy the on-offer snacks, drinks and swag while supplies last.

Upper Darby marks its second annual Pride Festival with a host of all-ages activities on the sprawling Upper Darby High School campus. Speakers and education stations offer resources alongside music and kid-friendly activities.

This year marks the first celebratory LGBTQ Pride at the Park event for Narberth and Lower Merion. Expect an exciting afternoon full of food, live music, local artists and educational resources, including fun events like Drag Queen Storytime with Balena Canto. Pride at the Park raises funds for The Trevor Project.

Doylestown’s third annual Pride Festival is a week of events designed to support and celebrate people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Robust offerings include a drag brunch at Genevieve’s Kitchen (June 12, 2022), a youth open mic and art show (June 15, 2022), and a block party (June 18, 2022).

The Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia launches a new Pride Month Maker’s Market featuring talented local LGBTQ artists and makers showing their wares — think candles from Queer Candle Co., clothing from Allegra Pronesti, ceramics by Kenni Field and Elias Gurrola swimwear. The maker of the month, artist and muralist Tiff Urquhart, also has work on display throughout June, starting with a “Meet The Artist” reception on June 2, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.

Get your bingo on with the Bingo Verifying Diva (BVDs) drag queens, who offer up musical performances and general bingo mayhem in addition to prizes. This month’s theme: 1996. (Think the Macarena , The Birdcage , Rent and more.)

An afternoon of LGBTQ performances and science lessons is included with general admission to The Franklin Institute , where things are bound to get loud and colorful. This year’s festivities include drag shows, photo ops and workshops for kids.

SAGA Community Center brings Bucks and Montgomery counties together for a second annual Pride festival . Live music, yoga classes and food trucks create a lively scene at Abington Arts Center, where Philadelphia comedian, writer and game show host Alyssa Al-Dookhi makes an appearance.

Philadelphia, the United States’ birthplace, is proud of the roles it has played — and plays still — in the founding, furtherance and celebration of the LGBTQ civil rights movement. From the country’s first major demonstration for LGBTQ rights in 1965 to today’s public art, thriving businesses and socially minded community centers, Philly remains an important part of the broader community. Check out our guide LGBTQ Philadelphia for more ways to explore.