Pittsburgh Pride In The Street 2013

I figured for my 300^th review what better of thing to review than the Pride festival that just happened in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. Of course Pride has come and gone already in the fair city, but that’s not before some fun was had by everyone.
Most people think of a Pride festival as just one big drunken blur… but, people, open your eyes. It’s a celebration. A celebration for not just the gay community, but for the whole city. Pride encompasses the whole month of June, emphasis is put on one week for the city with a huge, for lack of a better term, party happening in the street downtown. Each year there is a theme associated with Pride, and this year the theme was «I Wanna Marry You,» and each year there is usually a slew of performers with a big name performer ending the night. This year did not disappoint with such performers as Sharon Needles, Joe McElderry and the big name Adam Lambert. This was a great mix of entertainment for the evening. Mix that with the festive atmosphere and you get one amazing night.
Now, the concert isn’t the only thing that composes what Pride is. Fridays usually involve a pub crawl that takes people all over the city to visit local gay-​friendly establishments. Taken by buses, each stop has a set amount of time for people to enjoy inside. After that amount of time is up, it’s time to board the bus and head off to the next establishment.
Of course Saturday is the main event with the concert in the street. But one shouldn’t wear them self out Saturday; Sunday the festivities still go on. A march is staged through the city with over a hundred participants taking part. It winds it’s way from Blvd of the Allies to Grant, turn onto Fifth and ends on Liberty. Hundreds, if not thousands of people stand on the sidewalks cheering on each group that passes by. After the march, PrideFest takes place in the same area as the concert took place the night before. This time two stages are set up at each end of the area and performances take place on both stages. Usually local bands this time around. But the major draw is that there are tons of vendors down there to hand out information and fun little items. There are also a few vendors that sell a few items that benefit local businesses in the city. On Sundays they have a beer garden set up.
Saturday and Sunday they have food and beverage vendors scattered throughout, the likes of Franktuary truck and the pirogi truck and even Grandma’s French Fries were there.
Tickets had to be purchased beforehand or at the gate for the Pub Crawl, Pride in the Street and the Beer Garden during PrideFest. Even though it is over for the year, maybe you should come down and see for yourself next year just how much fun can be had. (Also, it is pet friendly)