The annual Mid-South Pride parade is moving to Beale Street this year, followed by a festival in Robert Church Park. The parade starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15th, and the festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In the recent past, the parade has been held on Cooper, but organizers are hoping to expand the event by bringing it into the city’s tourist district. The parade features two 100-foot rainbow flags, as well as floats and walking groups (including the Tennessee Equality Project’s zombie march). It kicks off at FedExForum, goes south down Third, circles around Beale, and then heads to Robert Church Park. Flyer managing editor Susan Ellis wrote about the event in this week’s paper, and you can find that article here.
The festival features live music by Carol Plunk, Summer Osborne, the Glory Holes, Porcelan Chalet, Sibella, and a performance by the Absent Friends shadow cast from Evergreen’s regular showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Speakers include Downtown Memphis Commission president Paul Morris, U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen, and Will Phillips, the 11-year-old from Arkansas who made national headlines for refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance until there is “liberty and justice for all.”
Here’s some video from last year’s parade for idea of what you might see:
