November 8, 2023

Greetings,

Thank you to our dedicated sponsors and partners!

The Central Arkansas PRIDEFest weekend on October 21st and 22nd was incredible! Central Arkansas Pride was able to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, history and culture with thousands of people across the state! We delivered events and programming that educated, inspired, strengthened, and united the community!  This would not be possible without our generous sponsors and partners.

With the support of our incredible sponsors we were able to communicate our message of INCLUSION and EQUALITY, despite a tough year of anti-LGBTQ legislation and executive orders. We know the Central Arkansas LGBTQIA+ community is rich in diversity and ever so talented!  The theme for this year's PRIDEFest was PRIDE 365. A theme that reflects the importance of visibility and living your authentic life.  We must be visible and our voices must be heard as we challenge the dangerous misinformation being told about our community. 

With our sponsor's support, we were able to bring in incredible headliners; John Levengood on his national “Say Gay “ tour; Scarlett Santana who sang her inspirational song of hope, “Live Your Life,” and spoke to the importance of living your authentic self; Former NFL player Esera Tualo’s who spoke about his foundation  “Hate is Wrong” at the Clinton Presidential Center and Hendrix University; International R&B singer Lillie McCloud, whose passionate voice inspired messages of perseverance and unity; and the entertainment of RuPaul Girl, Latrice Royale who entertained us and spread a message of joy and love.

With changes to 2023’s venue footprint in the Argenta Plaza area, we hosted over 100 vendors which included LGBTQIA+ organizations and support groups, arts and crafts, food trucks, our sponsors and partners. We are thankful for their participation as it showcased the resources of our diverse community. Pride unites and we were able to achieve this with a Parade, Festival, and Brunch plus the many other events held through partnering with other venues leading up to PRIDEFest this year. 

Central Arkansas PRIDE is in its 11th year! We are so proud of the visibility we bring through our support of Pride events across the state.  PRIDE is 365. Central Arkansas Pride attends almost every pride celebration across the state.  We make change happen by being visible and encouraging others to come out and be their authentic self! Everyone is welcome at our events! 

Central Arkansas Pride would like to thank our Corporate Sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor “Love Tito’s”, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Community: Belk, Axicom.

Friend of Pride: Ally Bank, AR Childrens Hospital, AR Blue Cross and Shield, Arvest Bank, Entergy, Kimberly Clark, NLR Tourism, US Bank, Walgreens.

Small Business/ Nonprofits Sponsors;

Featured Sponsor NAMI AR.

Platinum: Flyway Brewing Co., AR Family Dental, Healthy Connections, Park West Pharmacy -Prism

Gold: 1st United Methodist Church, Colonial Wine and Spirits,  Democratic Party of AR, Diversity Family Health, HRC-AR, New Path mental Health and Wellness

Silver: Argenta Counseling, CALS, Center for Arkansas Legal Services, Congregation of B’ Nai Israel, Episcopal  Church of AR, Jay Barth/Chuck Cliett, Made in the Shade, the Root Cafe.

Friend: 2nd Baptist Church of Downtown LR, Quapaw Quarter Association.

Partners 

Clinton Foundation, Camping World, El Sur, the Studio Theatre, The Hall, Skinny J’s, AR Rapps, River City Coffee, True Self Therapy, Party Gras, ACLU, inTRANSitive, Cardinal Counseling, PFLAG-LR,  LGBTQIA+ Book Club, The PRIDE Alliance, Kaleidoscope LGBTQ Film Festival, Pride of Fort Lauderdale.

We are grateful for the numerous organizations and individuals that support our mission of inspiring, educating, and uniting the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies through programming and events. Please continue to support each other as we create a more inclusive and stronger community here in Arkansas.

We look forward to an amazing 2024 and with your support, being more visible in the community! We are already working on an incredible year of events and educational programs.  Visit us at arpride.org for programming updates, volunteer opportunities and to donate to help us with this important work. 

On behalf of the Central Arkansas Pride Leadership Team, THANK YOU!

With Pride,

Dolores Wilk (they/them)

Executive Director

Office (501)404-8498  Ph/Text (501)519-0137

P.O Box 250096 Little Rock, AR 72225

Facebook | Instagram l www.arpride.org