On June 6, DuSable Museum, 740 W. 56th Pl., hosted its sixth annual Pride Southside Festival in the park adjacent to the museum, under a resplendent, sunny sky.
This version of the festival, titled “Your Right to Pride,” was more expansive than in previous years. Among the activities and events were two stages for live music and DJ sets; a tasting truck; a bar lounge; a mechanical bull; a Vogue floor; an arcade; a section devoted to LGBTQ+ history; a wellness and merchant area located in the Museum roundhouse and garden; and an area which welcomed seniors.
Mayor Brandon Johnson also made an appearance, taking a decidedly non-politician approach by mingling in the crowd and meeting festgoers rather than delivering a speech from the stage.
Performances at the festival included an electrified set of jazz-hip hop-soul by Mia LJ; a joyfully rowdy rave-up from New York rapper SevenDeep; and a gut-bucket set which combined spirituality and hard funk from “Deviant” artist Just Logan. There were also sets from DJ Wolfy, Mister Wallace, Trqpiteca, Keri Triad, Blesstonio, Eric Donte, Chicago Gay Men’s Choir and Miss Twink USA.
Sponsors of the festival included Project Vida, Impulse, BLACC, Lambda Legal, Sway, Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, Howard Brown Health, Center on Halsted, ViiV Healthcare, Southside Help Center, Rush Hospital, Task Force, One Roof, Ubuntu, PFLAG and Gilead, as well as a host of others.
