When asked to characterize her performance at Chicago Pride Fest on Saturday, local drag queen Ebonii Michaels used the following description: “energy, combustion and spreading love.” “And sexiness, of course,” she added. That description could easily apply to the overall event, which takes place at Halsted and Addison in Lake View, and continues Sunday from 11 a.
m. to 10 p.m.
Now in its 23rd year, the fest typically attracts tens of thousands of people, and many packed the area on Saturday afternoon for performances on three stages — especially for headliner JoJo Siwa. (Natasha Bedingfield, the other main act, was scheduled to perform Saturday night.) Attendees, many dressed in rainbow colors and other bright attire, brought warm and friendly vibes to the fest, which featured about 150 food and merchandise vendors.
They snacked on tacos, empanadas, Asian cuisine and Italian beef. Vendors sold clothing, tasteful erotica art, “kinky earrings” and decorative tumblers. Drag queen Mimi Marks performs during Pride Fest along Halsted Street in Northalsted, Saturday, June 22, 2024.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times But it wasn’t just about having a good time, said Mark Liberson, who chairs the festival committee. “It’s an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate, and also to continue to push towards securing rights for people who in our community are still being marginalized and not being welcomed into society fully as they deserve to be,” he told the Su.
