BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The region's pride festival is expected to be bigger and better this year.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center has announced that Lehigh Valley Pride will be located at the SteelStacks in Bethlehem for a second year.
The festival also will remain free, after many years with a $10 entrance fee.
"Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center encourages community members, allies, and accomplices to show their Pride."A press release from Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
More than 300 vendors, artists, community organizations and sponsors will be at the event, from 2 to 7 p.m. Aug. 18.
The theme will be “We Deserve PRIDE.”
The center expects more than 10,000 attendees, according to a Bradbury-Sullivan Center news release.
Last year’s event surpassed the previous 5,500-attendee record at 4 p.m., with more than half of the festival left to go.
“In the face of national escalating legislative and societal challenges, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center encourages community members, allies, and accomplices to show their Pride and support for LGBTQ+ people,” the release read.
What’s new this year?
This year, Lehigh Valley Pride will expand its reach to more parts of the ArtsQuest campus so there can be more vendors.
Last year’s event was spread across three floors of the ArtsQuest building, the visitor’s center and most of the outdoor space.
Lehigh Valley Pride 2024 will continue to have accessibility features such as ASL interpreters, large-print Pride guides, alcohol-free experiences, accessible seating for those with disabilities, an indoor sensory-friendly area and a spirituality space, according to the release.
It also will have a baby and tot spot, which was not available last year.
In 2023, Bradbury-Sullivan Center put on a parade in Allentown and held a flag-raising ceremony in Easton on the same day as Lehigh Valley Pride.
It is unclear whether those events will happen again.
The center declined a request for more information about the event.
