Kansas City PrideFest: A guide to staying safe during parades and festivals

Organizers expect that Kansas City’s 2023 PrideFest and parade should draw about 50,000 people this weekend. But recent anti-LGBTQ policies, plus an attack last weekend at Fountain Haus in Westport, have stoked safety concerns for many event-goers.
When Lea Hopkins organized Kansas City’s first Pride parade in 1977, the threat of being exposed as LGBTQ+ kept many people from marching with her.

“You could lose your job or get taken out of your apartment,” Hopkins said. Only about 20 people participated, she said, because the stigma around queer identity was so strong.

Fast-forward 46 years, and Kansas City Pride events have burgeoned into citywide celebrations of queer resilience and joy that many residents look forward to.