1st Annual SoMa PRIDE Parade Application - SoMa Pride Parade - Eventeny
SoMa Pride Street Festival and Parade set to be Little Rock’s First Pride Month event.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 18, 2024) – The Little Rock LGBTQIA+ community called, SoMa
501 will answer on June 1 with its inaugural Pride Parade and Street Festival.
“Every year in October, our friends and partners at Central Arkansas Pride (CAP) host an
outstanding Pridefest that has been getting bigger and better, but so many people ask, ‘Why
don’t we have an event in June during Pride Month?’” said Elizabeth Michael, SoMa 501
executive director. “We’re working with SoMa business owners and neighbors, LGBTQIA+
community members and allies, CAP, and others to plan a June event in addition to Pridefest in
the fall.”
June has been designated National Pride Month in observance of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising
in New York City, which is seen as the tipping point for the LGBTQIA+ rights movement.
October is LGBTQIA+ History Month and October 11 is National Coming Out Day, established
to observe the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987.
“The cooler weather in October is a plus for Pride organizers in southern states,” said Dolores
Wilk, executive director of Central Arkansas Pride and one of the SoMa Pride organizers. “Our
mission is to educate, inspire and unite. We are extremely excited to partner with SoMa 501 to
bring the Little Rock LGBTQIA+ community and allies an opportunity to be visible and celebrate
Pride in June. We will continue PrideFest in October to celebrate LGBTQIA+ History Month and
the movement.”
SoMa Pride will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, June 1 and will feature a
parade, over 100 vendors, a kid’s zone, entertainment by local LGBTQIA+ artists, and food and
beverage areas.
Visit https://www.somalittlerock.com/somapride to sign up to be a vendor, register your group or
company to march in the parade, or be a sponsor of the event. To make the event accessible to
as many as possible, booth/vendor space may be purchased on a sliding scale based on the
ability to pay, organizers said.
Central Arkansas Pride is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and volunteer-based group that
has been building a welcoming community for LGBTQIA+ Arkansans for more than 11 years.
We come together to celebrate the history and culture of Arkansas’s LGBTQIA+ community
through Pride events and programming that inspire, strengthen, and unite.
SoMa 501 (formerly Southside Main Street Project, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
dedicated to promoting and enhancing economic development, public relations, historic
integrity, and quality of life for the citizens of the SoMa District in Little Rock. As an accredited
Main Street Arkansas program, we work with our local businesses, government partners, and
other stakeholders to deliver events, improvement projects, and programming for the benefit of
everyone who visits our stretch of Main Street.
Vision: SoMa 501 strives for a vibrant and diverse South Main Street where residents, local
businesses, and visitors alike feel welcome and engaged in the community.
Mission: SoMa 501 contributes to an eclectic and dynamic South Main Street by championing
its economic interests, celebrating and protecting its history, and cultivating an exceptional
downtown experience for all who come to live, work, play, and be in our vibrant, neighborly
community.
Visit us at https://www.somalittlerock.com/somapride or follow us on Facebook & Instagram to
stay up to date on announcements and events.