The new location for the Sioux Falls Pride Festival this weekend

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — June is National Pride Month, and members of the LGBTQ+ community in Sioux Falls are gearing up for the annual celebration.

Sioux Falls Pride has many celebrations planned for the week, but perhaps the most notable is the Pride Parade on Saturday.

“The weather should be nice, knock on wood. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m really excited to see all the people that show up,” said Hadass Negi, a member of the Sioux Falls Pride Board of Directors. “It’s really, really empowering to go to the parade and be around these people. And it’s such a good and positive day.”

Following the Pride Parade is the Pride Festival, which has a new location. This year it will be here at Sioux Falls Stadium next to the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

“It’s good, we’re pretty excited,” Negi said. “There will be grass in the stadium, which we’re looking forward to, and we’ll be able to fit in a lot more suppliers this year.”

Also new is that the Pride Festival is a dry event this year.

“It will be nice to have a dry Pride so it can be a little more inclusive for everyone,” Negi said. “And then for those who want to indulge, they can go to Club David and enjoy a show and have a drink.”

Regardless of the location or changes, Negi says it’s always nice to see everyone come together for these Pride events.

“Being in the Midwest and being in a city where it’s so supportive, it feels so refreshing, if that makes sense. I don’t know, it touches a special place in my heart,” Negi said.

The parade takes place Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Phillips Avenue. The festival will run from noon to five.

Also new this year is a sensory friendly shopping experience at the stadium that will begin at 10:30am.