more than
just a
FESTIVAL
Charlotte Pride’s year-round programs, projects and activities fulfill our mission to enrich, empower, strengthen and make visible the unique lives and experiences of LGBTQ people in Charlotte and the Carolinas.
The organization’s programmatic impact areas are Arts & Culture, Community Solidarity, Economic Growth & Upward Mobility, and Visibility & Education. Permanent programs include Charlotte Latine Pride, Charlotte Trans Pride, Charlotte Women’s Pride, Charlotte Pride Job Fair, Charlotte Pride Scholarship & Internship Program, and Reel Out Charlotte, The Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival.
Through our programs, Charlotte Pride commits to treating all people with respect and dignity, creating continuous learning and involvement opportunities, providing awareness on intersectional issues that impact the lives of our diverse community, and offering opportunities for the year-round engagement, recognition, and empowerment of our volunteers.
Community Programs
Charlotte Pride’s permanent community programs are designed to spotlight and uplift traditionally underserved and historically excluded communities, while offering opportunities to explore the unique histories, cultures, talents, and needs of particular communities.
Scholarship & Internship Program
The Charlotte Pride Scholarship & Internship Program, generously supported by the Principal® Foundation, aims to improve economic mobility for LGBTQ and ally college students from the Charlotte metro area by funding college scholarships and a summer internship opportunity. Recipients will be eligible for up to $10,000 for the academic year at an accredited two- or four-year college.
Job
Fair
The Charlotte Pride Job Fair is our newest program, created to support members of the LGBTQ community as they find employment. It offers FREE career advancement opportunities in partnership with other nonprofits and sponsoring companies, including free workshops, headshots, resume building, and on-the-spot job interviews.
Festival & Parade
Charlotte’s largest street festival and parade returns to Uptown Charlotte for another year! From our roots 50 years ago, when early gay rights leaders first attempted organizing in Charlotte, to our first Gay Pride Day in 1981, to the founding of Charlotte Pride and our first event in 2001 — we are so excited to celebrate again with you all the ways our community has grown and triumphed. From 2,000 attendees in 2001 to a record-breaking parade in 2023, the Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade returns to the streets of Uptown Charlotte in August as we celebrate 20+ years of Charlotte Pride and more than 40 years of Pride legacy in the Queen City.
Charlotte
Latine Pride
Enhancing local Latine LGBTQ engagement with social events, education, and partnerships, including Spanish-language film screenings.
Charlotte
Trans Pride
Celebrating and supporting transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals.
Charlotte
Women's Pride
Born out of a community-voiced desire to see more programs, events, and spaces for LGBTQ women & femmes.
reel out
charlotte
Reel Out Charlotte is the Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival. This program of Charlotte Pride uses the power of art and film to entertain, enlighten, and build valuable bridges of understanding, support, and acceptance within and between the LGBTQ and ally communities in the region. The film festival will celebrate its 17th annual event in 2025. As the festival marked its 10th anniversary in 2018, a community vote helped pick a new name, rebranding from the GayCharlotte Film Festival to Reel Out Charlotte.
Charlotte Pride is the leader of LGBTQ visibility in Charlotte and the Carolinas.
Charlotte Prides’ various programs, services, and events align to four areas of impact.
Arts &
Culture
Economic Growth & Upward Mobility
Community Solidarity
Visibility & Education
arts &
culture
Charlotte Pride creates programs and efforts to support diverse arts and culture programming that uplifts, empowers, enriches, and educates the community while highlighting the work of LGBTQ artists, performers, thinkers, and creators.
Charlotte Pride’s signature arts & culture programs include Reel Out Charlotte: The Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival, Flourish: A Celebration of LGBTQ Arts & Culture, Charlotte Pride Drag Programs, Charlotte Pride Interfaith Programs, and the Charlotte Pride History Project, as well as complementing arts and culture components in our stand-alone Charlotte Latine Pride, Charlotte Trans Pride, and Charlotte Women’s Pride programs. Additional programs and events throughout the year include arts and entertainment showcases, arts and culture activations at the annual festival and parade, and more.
Economic Growth &
Upward Mobility
Charlotte Pride recognizes the importance of the LGBTQ community to our local and regional economy and supports programs to include LGBTQ people in the economic life of our region and to create upward economic mobility for LGBTQ people.
Charlotte Pride supports the economic well-being of LGBTQ small business owners and entrepreneurs through vendor and other opportunities at each year’s festival and parade. Community members also benefit from yearly job fairs and additional opportunities to network with LGBTQ-owned and -affirming employers at large events. Yearly, the organization also awards several young people college scholarships through its Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program, designed to support the upward economic mobility and continuing education needs of students. Charlotte Pride also proudly partners with the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority and other local organizations to support and promote tourism and the local economy.
community
solidarity
Charlotte Pride supports programs, projects, and efforts that uplift and empower our entire community while centering the lives, experiences, and voices of the most marginalized.
Charlotte Pride reimagined many of its community support initiatives in the face of the many challenges presented during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, it unveiled its COVID-19 Relief Program, which will be expanded into a permanent program. In 2021, additional community support and solidarity programs are planned. Charlotte Pride annually supports InterPride’s Solidarity Fund and collaborates with several community partners on annual solidarity events like Trans Day of Visibility and Trans Day of Remembrance.
Visibility & Education
Charlotte Pride recognizes the need for increased visibility of LGBTQ people and the issues which impact our community, as well as programs, projects, and efforts to educate and enrich LGBTQ people and the broader community.
Charlotte Pride’s programs are designed to fulfill our mission to enrich, empower, strengthen, and make more visible our communities. We do so through a broad range of year-round programs and activities, as well as targeted community education and engagement campaigns, as well as regular social media awareness and education campaigns. Charlotte Pride is proud to have recently partnered with community coalitions to support 2020 Census outreach, combat housing discrimination, promote LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections, and advocate for equitable transit options in the Charlotte metro area, among others.
