LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

As a community dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, we celebrate Pride Month each year in June by honoring LGBTQIA+ people in Fredericksburg.

We invite you to celebrate with us by joining in the FXBG Pride Event in June. Find additional events and ways to get involved in celebrating below. And read about the importance of the Pride community and the rich resources available on the websites linked below.

About Pride Month

Pride Month, an annual month-long celebration in June, is a time to recognize the LGBTQIA+ community and its path to equity. 

The origins of the celebration date back to June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, NY, which resulted in rioting outside. Protestors demanded the establishment of places where LGBTQIA+ people could go and be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest.

Pride Month started with the Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in 1970. This eventually morphed into today’s New York City Pride March and was the catalyst for similar parades and marches around the world. Bill Clinton was the first U.S. President to officially recognize Pride Month in 1999. 

In addition to Pride Month, Pride Day is celebrated on June 28, which is why the FXBG Pride Event takes place the last Saturday of the month. 

The original Fredericksburg Pride special events first occurred in 2012 known as the Pride Festival hosted in Riverfront Park, this nonprofit has since been dissolved. In 2020 a Fred Pride event was organized at Hurkamp Park and Pride March in Market Square. In 2021 a local non-profit was formed known also as Fredericksburg Pride and organized the annual event as the FXBG Pride & Pride March. Recognized as the region’s celebration of Pride Month, the event outgrew Maury Park and moved to Old Mill Park in 2022.

Local Events

Call for Artists! Celebrate Pride: Love, Diversity and Equality Art Show at the Fredericksburg Visitor Center - Friday, June 2 - Sunday, June 25. 

FXBG Pride March and Pride Fest - Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 9:30am to 5:00pm at Old Mill Park.  

FXBG Events Calendar - Find out what's happening in June in Fredericksburg. 

Events Group: https://www.meetup.com/Fredericksburg-LGBT/

Engage and Learn

Learn from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library – LGBTQIA+ Books and Resources 

Read The Free Lance-Star’s brief "History of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the American workforce"

Regional Information for Support and Resources

The nonprofit Fredericksburg Pride hosts events, sells celebratory gear, and accepts donations for the purpose of forming a safe and welcoming environment for the LGBTQIA+ community.

PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies.

Side by Side is an organization dedicated to creating supportive communities where Virginia’s LGBTQ+ youth can define themselves, belong and flourish.

Fredericksburg Area Health and Support Services provides a safe environment to learn, grow, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

Mosaic Care Center provides supportive primary medical care.

Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault provides support, treatment and advocacy to persons whose lives have been affected by sexual violence and to reduce sexual violence in our community through education and awareness.

Virginia Pride seeks to unite the segmented LGBT communities throughout the Commonwealth.