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Ann Arbor Pride: Through the Years

Ann Arbor Pride is back! The first in-person event after a 2-year pandemic-induced virtual hiatus is set for Sept. 11 at Wheeler Park from 12-5 p.m. The event will feature community yoga, entertainment by Alice King, Outloud Chorus, Joanna Sterling and a drag show featuring Unveiled Belly Dance and "RuPaul's Drag Race" star Aja LaBeija.Ahead of the big event, we're taking a reminiscent look at Ann Arbor Pride/OUTfest celebrations from years past. The commemoration has always been less corporate and more unique than many larger Prides in so many ways. Ann Arbor Pride is intimate, but unabashedly flamboyant. Loud (in color and sound), but ever sincere in a quiet reflection on the vital contributions made by some of the city's earliest, bravest queer pioneers. Ann Arbor has long been a leader for the state and in many ways, the nation, when it comes to taking a stand on LGBTQ+ equality and for providing an example of how municipalities can extend LGBTQ+ protections and recognize the community's contributions.Pride in Ann Arbor: Looking Back1972 was a big year for equality in Ann Arbor. That year, the city celebrated the first national Gay Pride Week and adopted an anti-discrimination ordinance that included protections based around sexual preference. Two years earlier, Ann Arbor's own Jim Toy had come out publicly as gay, the first Michigan man to do so. Sadly, Toy died in January at the age of 91, but the legacy of his work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community continues today through the Jim Toy Community Center and a host of organizations where the equal rights champion was active.

3 Jim Toy

Pride Source Media, including our print publication, Between the Lines, has been covering Pride in Ann Arbor since there's been a Pride celebration in Ann Arbor, from its origins as OUTFest beginning in 1995, which coincided with National Coming Out Day in early October through to the virtual celebration for Ann Arbor Pride 2021 last year. Below, you'll find selected highlights from some of our online coverage of the annual event  — enjoy this trip down memory lane, and share your favorite Ann Arbor Pride/OUTFest memories in the comment section below or on our Facebook and Instagram pages!



2005

Come out and celebrate: Outfest

OutFest captures the energy of equality

Gay former Marine turned author to headline OUTfest

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2006

OutFest prevails despite rain

2007

Poor weather keeps attendance down at OutFest

2009

OutFest is on

A more intimate OutFest pleases crowd

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2010

OutFest continues its tradition in AA

Just announced: Ann Arbor’s OutFest on Sept. 18

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2011

Images from Outfest

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2012

OUTFest celebration returns to Braun Court

2013

Come Out, Help Out

2014

OUTFest Returns For 20th Annual Celebration

The Accidental Activists Of Ann Arbor’s Homoplex

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2015

JTCC Celebrates 21 Years Of OUTfest

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2016

OUTfest Marks National Coming Out Day

OUTfest Honors And Remembers Pulse Nightclub Victims In Orlando

LGBTQ Culture in the Ann Arbor Area

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2017

Ann Arbor OUTFest Marks 23 Years

Calling All Musicians, Artists, Poets and Entertainers

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2018

Ann Arbor Pride Marks 24th Anniversary This year

Ann Arbor Pride New Headliner Announcement: Brian Justin Crum

Ann Arbor Pride 2018 Photo Gallery

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2019

Ann Arbor Pride 2019 Recap

Ann Arbor Pride Co-Director Talks Community and Connection

Ann Arbor Pride Bingo Brunch Aug. 4 Featuring Jujubee

Ann Arbor Pride Starts Aug. 3

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2021 (Virtual)

2021 Ann Arbor Pride Unveils Lineup As It Seeks to Engage LGBTQ+ Community in New Ways

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