July 17-19th
2026
Rivercity Pride
Weekend
Celebrate Pride all weekend long! We kick things off Friday night with InQueery, our educational event. Saturday is the main event—River City Pride Festival from 10 AM–10 PM, featuring entertainment, vendors, food, and family-friendly fun. We close out the weekend on Sunday with our Drag & Paint Brunch.
July 17th-19th
Friday, July 17, 6:30–8:00 PM
Cafe Santa Rosa – Peoria Heights
Before Chicago there was Peoria
Did you know the founder of Chicago once lived and traded land right here in Peoria?
Join Peoria Proud the day before River City Pride for a fascinating evening exploring the history of migration, belonging, and identity in Illinois through The Digital Divide: A Migration Story with storyteller and researcher Kyla Williams Tate.
Through storytelling, poetry, history, and lived experience, Kyla connects the movement of people throughout Illinois history to the way communities connect today. From Jean Baptiste Point du Sable to modern conversations about access and belonging, this program brings history to life in a unique and engaging way.
We’ll also have a traveling queer history wall on display, free refreshments, and a cash bar available at Cafe Santa Rosa.
Come kick off Pride Fest weekend with community, conversation, and history.
7th Annual
River City Pride Festival 2026 returns to the Peoria Riverfront on Saturday, July 18 for a full day of Pride, community, visibility, and celebration.
Hosted by Peoria Proud, River City Pride brings together LGBTQIA+ people, families, friends, allies, local organizations, performers, vendors, artists, and community members from across Central Illinois.
Pride is a celebration, absolutely — and we are going to celebrate. But it is also history. It is education. It is advocacy. It is connection. It is creating space where people can show up fully as themselves and know they belong.
Join us for a day filled with entertainment, drag, food, vendors, community resources, art, family-friendly activities, and the kind of joy that only happens when a community shows up for each other.
Whether this is your first Pride or your fiftieth, you are welcome here.
Come celebrate with us. Come learn with us. Come dance, connect, support, and be part of something bigger than one day on the riverfront.
saturday, July 18, 10am-10 PM
Peoria Illinois riverfront
sunday, July 19,
10am
Par a Dice Hotel
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