For the second straight year, Wisconsin’s largest LGBTQ+ event will be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Milwaukee Pride Inc., the parent organization of PrideFest, announced Tuesday that the annual event that normally boasts attendance numbers of about 45,000 people over the four-day festival will not take place at the Henry W. Maier Festival Grounds from Thursday, June 3-Sunday, June 6.
“After much consideration, we cannot move forward with planning a June 2021 festival without knowing how and when a vaccine will be distributed throughout our community equally,” Milwaukee Pride, Inc. President Wes Shaver said in a statement. “It is still unclear as to how (or if) public gatherings will happen in 2021 and we cannot risk the health and wellbeing of our community by putting the festival ahead of the people it serves. Now, more than ever, we need to amplify the work of our community partners and increase accessibility and awareness of the many services, resources, and programs available to support LGBTQ+ people.”
PrideFest is the first festival at the Henry Maier Festival Park to cancel in 2021. Milwaukee Pride is still hosting to host an event later in summer or early fall.
