Danville KY Pride History

Danville KY Pride is a 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming community in Danville, Kentucky.

16 people stand in 3 rows holding a rainbow banner that says Love Always Wins in front of a rainbow balloon arch and brick wall.

The planning committee for the June 2024 Pride Picnic & Potluck. This group would eventually form the basis of Danville KY Pride.

Our Story

2022

In June of 2022, a newly-formed LGBTQ+-affirming church, Open Table Christian Church (DoC), hosted Danville, Kentucky's first Pride event, the Pride Picnic, which took place at Danville's Millennium Park. Not knowing what to expect, Open Table was pleasantly surprised when over 80 people attended the event!

2023

The following year, Open Table hosted a second Pride Picnic in June of 2023 at Pioneer Playhouse, and it is estimated that over 250 people attended. In October of 2023, Open Table partnered with Centre College and other Queer-affirming churches in the area to host a fall Pride Picnic so that Centre students could attend.

2024

Then, in 2024, Open Table formed a group of people from the Danville LGBTQ+ community and allies to plan the June 2024 Pride Picnic & Potluck at the Centre College Combs Warehouse. This working group would eventually become the foundational group that formed Danville KY Pride. The June 2024 Pride Picnic was a massive hit, with attendance soaring to over 400 folks from all across the region. After the success of this event, the planning group decided to form an unofficial Danville Pride organization as they began applying for nonprofit 501(c)(3) status and planning Danville's first full-scale Pride Festival.

Danville KY Pride was approved for 501(c)(3) status on August 5, 2024, and the newly-elected board began preparations for the 2024 Pride Festival which took place in October of 2024 at Pioneer Playhouse.

Highlights from the 2024 Danville Pride Festival:

Over 1200 people registered to attend the 2024 Pride Festival, with around 700 attending on the day of the event.
40 vendors and local resource tables participated in the festival.
The 2024 Pride festival included a drag show, along with a "Miscast" presented through a partnership with a local community theatre.
The Difference Maker award was presented to Jane Brantley and Dr. Eric Mount for their leadership in 2014 in bringing Danville's Fairness Ordinance into being.
Gay Appalachian author, advocate, and public speaker Willie Carver read selections from his award-winning poetry book Gay Poems for Red States.

2025

So far, in 2025, Danville KY Pride helped collect donated items to support flooding and tornado victims across the Commonwealth, and began planning the 2025 Danville Pride Festival. In July, Danville KY Pride hosted About Face, a drag brunch fundraiser to help support the organization. The event consisted of professional drag performers and four locals appearing in drag for the first time coming together to raise funds for our organization.