Your 2023 Kansas City Pride Guide: Here are 13 ways to celebrate LGBTQ community in June

June is LGBT Pride Month, and Kansas City has a wealth of celebrations for residents and visitors alike to enjoy. From parades and parties to film festivals and art exhibits, here are thirteen ways to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community this month.

Did we miss a pride event happening in the metro? Let us know at kcq@kcstar.com so we can add it in.

June 1-30: An Angel in America: Remembering Jaymes Leahy

This two-part exhibition at the UMKC library’s special collections gallery and the Kansas City Art Institute’s gallery commemorates visual artist and KCAI graduate Jaymes Leahy, whose life was cut short by the AIDS crisis. KCAI’s exhibition displays a selection of Leahy’s artwork, while UMKC’s exhibition celebrates the addition of the James Leahy Collection to the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America.

While both exhibitions will run throughout the month of June, UMKC’s Miller Nichols Library will hold a reception on June 16, and KCAI will host a roundtable discussion with exhibit curator Ann Wederquist Leahy and special guests on June 17.

June 3: KC Current Pride Night

Kansas City’s women’s soccer team will host its annual Pride Night game against the North Carolina Courage at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Fans can expect a festival of community organizations before the match as well as Pride-themed merchandise and giveaways.

June 3-4: Times Are a-Changin’ Concert

Join Choral Spectrum, one of Kansas City’s LGBTQ vocal choirs, for a performance of affirming music. Held at Holmeswood Baptist Church, this concert will have an evening performance on June 3 and a matinee performance the following day. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for students. You can buy them here.

June 9-11: Kansas City Pridefest

This three-day festival is located in Theis Park just east of the Country Club Plaza. It features live performances, food trucks and massive tents filled with vendors, community organizations, resource groups and sponsors. Admission costs $5 per person, with no cost for children ages 12 and under. Learn more about the festival and buy tickets here.

June 10: Kansas City Pride Parade

Kansas City’s annual pride parade kicks off at 11 a.m. at the corner of Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard. The parade will feature community groups, floats, performers and pageant winners processing down Broadway as it becomes Mill Creek Parkway. The parade will then turn east on 47th Street and end at Theis Park.

The parade is free to attend, and spectators can expect freebies like candy and merchandise thrown to the crowd. Admission is free and no tickets are required — simply show up, pick a spot and enjoy the fun.

June 11: True Colors Concert

OUTside Voices KC, a local LGBTQ affirming choir group, will perform its True Colors concert at Community Christian Church on the Plaza. The group describes the concert as “a performance about self-exploration, self-reflection and finding pride within yourself.” Tickets are $15 for adults and free for youth under age 18. You can buy them here.

June 15-17: Pride Month Cabaret

Come see Black Box regulars Fishtank Theatre as they put on a special Pride edition of their monthly cabaret performance. This fun celebration will feature local drag queens performing the classics alongside your favorite show tunes. Bring dollar bills to tip the queens! Tickets start at $25, and the theater will host a run of three shows on June 15, 16 and 17.

June 16: Pride Night at Kauffman Stadium

Five local drag queens from Hamburger Mary’s will perform at Kauffman Stadium in a special pre-game show on Friday, July 16. Attendees who have a themed ticket will also be given a special Royals-themed pride flag while supplies last. Tickets start at $25, and parking for the game starts at $20.

June 17: MIDAS: Everything We Touch Is Gold party

Local LGBTQ+ event planner Palace Parties is hosting a pride gathering with a sparkling theme: gold! Celebrate from 8 p.m. until midnight with gold-clad performers, gold-flecked champagne and a gold-themed dress code at Stray Cat Film Center. Tickets are $20 and go on sale soon.

June 17: Antidote Launch Party

Antidote is a new LGBTQ+ social club specifically centering people of color. Its launch party starts at 7 p.m. at the offices of Blaqout, a local nonprofit focused on addressing HIV/AIDS in the Black community.

Antidote describes its launch event as “an art gallery and dance party.” Tickets are $17 and can be purchased here. The event’s ticket page notes that the party is for QTBIPOC only, meaning queer and trans folks who identify as Black, indigenous or people of color.

June 17-18: Disney Pride in Concert

The Heartland Men’s Chorus, Kansas City’s gay men’s choir, will celebrate Pride Month with the music of Disney. Billboards are already up around the city for the chorus’s two performances, which promise a mix of Disney classics and modern hits for all ages to enjoy.

“This concert is going to be awesome,” member Paul Backer told The Star. “It includes music from 42 songs in the Disney songbook. And it’s all tied together with narration (and) stories written by members of HMC on various themes of gay pride.” Tickets are on sale now on the chorus’s website.

June 25: People’s Pride

Making its debut this year, People’s Pride is a new community-led pride event featuring only local and LGBTQ+ performers, vendors and organizers. The event kicks off with a parade at 3 p.m. and continues with musical performances starting at 6 p.m. Several local vegan pop-up food vendors will have refreshments for sale. The event will be located in the West Bottoms outside 9th & State on W. 9th Street. It’s free to attend and no tickets are required.

June 29: Out Here Now: Kansas City’s LGBT Film Festival

Back for the first time since the pandemic began, Kansas City’s oldest community film festival will feature a selection of independent LGBTQ films as well as a screening of the iconic documentary “Paris is Burning.” Out Here Now is free to attend — you can reserve your free tickets on the festival’s website or get them at the door of UMKC’s student union theater on June 29, 30 and July 1.

Festival director and curator Jamie Rich told The Star that two LGBTQ filmmakers who got their start in Kansas City will be making a homecoming during the event for the local debuts of their original feature-length documentaries. Lisa Marie Evans will present “In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction,” while Sav Rogers will present “Chasing Chasing Amy.” The festival will also showcase several independent films not available on streaming and never before shown in the Kansas City area.

Do you have more questions about pride month in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.