A Guide to 2024 Philadelphia OURfest: National Coming Out Parade and Festival

The Experience

OURfest (standing for Our Uniting Resilience) officially begins with kick-off events across the area on Friday, October 11, 2024  — and the festivities only ramp up over the weekend.

  — Photo courtesy of OURfest Parade & Festival

Parade

The OURfest National Coming Out Day Parade returns for its second year on Saturday, October 12, 2024, from 4 to 6 p.m.

The celebration starts at 5th & Market streets before making its way through Old City and the Gayborhood to Broad & Locust streets.

The parade features a series of LGBTQ+ floats, live performances, and sections for pioneers and community leaders, youth and families, sports and recreation, drag artists, arts and culture, and more.

Topping off the historic festivities, the largest rainbow pride flag in Pennsylvania history — clocking in at a whopping 400 feet long — is proudly unfurled for all to see.

  — Photo by Cody Aldrich Photography and Aversa PR

Festival

The party continues the next day with the OURfest National Coming Out Festival and Resource Fair, taking place all across the Gayborhood on Sunday, October 13, 2024, from noon to 7 p.m.

One of the largest outdoor festivals in Philadelphia, this lively street fest and resource fair captures the vibrancy, diversity and joy of Philly’s LGBTQ+ community with art and music by local artists, speeches and live entertainment, food trucks, makers and vendors, family programming, educational resources, and wellness services.

  — Photo courtesy of OURfest Parade & Festival

Festival highlights include:

• the Philadelphia Muses Stage, featuring a lineup of performers, producers and DJs, plus a ceremony awarding 2024’s Ms., Mx. and Mr. Ourfest
• a special zone catering to youth, young adults and families with bounce houses, drag queen story time, performances by young artists, dancing and more
• the Food Truck Market, selling a wide variety of bites and sips from East Coast vendors
• three, 21-plus beer gardens highlighting 11 legendary Gayborhood landmarks, including Cockatoo, Franky Bradly’s and TABU (accessible by donation or by engaging with one of the festival’s wellness initiatives)
• Sober Vibes, an alcohol-free space offering adult-oriented entertainment

  — Photo courtesy OURFest Parade & Festival

• Kiki Alley, a celebration space highlighting the rich history and culture of Philly’s ballroom community
• Bailar con Amor, a section celebrating the LGBTQ+ Latino community and Afro-Latino culture, art, dance and expression
• the Decompression Zone, a space for attendees in need of a relaxing place to reset, complete with low music, comfortable seating, accessible bathrooms, a cooling station, an adult changing station and medical resources, and
• POP Wellness, a pop-up site offering education, employment, housing and healthcare services. (Get your wristbands for complimentary Beer Garden entry here.)

Theme

Philadelphia OURfest: National Coming Out Parade and Festival is open to all, especially LGBTQ+ members and allies.

This year’s theme, “OURfest, Our Future,” is a call for unity across the LGBTQ+ community in the face of the very real challenges members face.

But it’s also a joyful invitation to members and allies to loudly, proudly and authentically express themselves — and have a lot of fun while they’re at it.

  — Photo courtesy of OURfest Parade & Festival

What better way to do that than to party through the streets of the City of Brotherly Love?

Getting There

Parade

The OURfest parade starts at 5th & Market streets and ends at Broad & Locust streets, marching through both Philadelphia’s Old City and Gayborhood — aka Midtown Village — neighborhoods.

While street parking can be found all around in the surrounding neighborhoods, large stretches will be closed off to traffic for the parade. The easiest bet? Public transportation.

Several SEPTA buses drop off near the parade and the 5th Street Independence Hall station of SEPTA’s Market/Frankford subway line will leave you just feet from the starting point.

Cyclists can also take easy advantage of the Indego bike rental stations all around the neighborhood.

  — Photo courtesy of OURfest Parade & Festival

Festival

The OURfest festival takes place all throughout the Gayborhood spanning Walnut, Pine and Locust streets between 12th and 13th streets.

If you want a hassle-free trip, public transit is the way to go — and both the Walnut-Locust subway stop on SEPTA’s Broad Street Line and the Jefferson Station stop on SEPTA’s Regional Rail leave you just minutes away from the fun.

With so much happening on festival day, driving isn’t recommended. (However, there are parking lots a few blocks away.)

For more info on the Philadelphia OURfest: National Coming Out Parade and Festival, click the button below.

Guide to Drag Shows & Drag Brunches in Philly

Looking for more LGBTQ+ events in the area? Lucky for you: Philly’s kind of a drag, and we’re okay with that.

Click the button below for a guide to Philly’s top drag venues, drag brunches, cabarets and other can’t-miss performances.

Essential LGBTQ+ Philly

Philly is proud of the historic roles it has played — and plays still — in the founding, advancement and celebration of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

  — Photo by K. Aversa

Click the button below to explore an essential itinerary for visitors interested in Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ scene — past and present.