Ī non-profit organization was established to coordinate the pride festival in 1991. įrom 1983 to 1985, the march took place on a portion of Phoenix's Central Avenue Corridor, and the event in 1987 became politically focused once again, as it was combined with an event aimed at recalling controversial Governor Evan Mecham. Newspaper reports at the time estimated 600 to 1,000 people attended the evening march, although later research has put the figure to over 700 people having taken part.
The event was a politically focused march that aimed to bring awareness to LGBT rights issues in the Phoenix area. The first parade was a march from Patriots Square Park (now the site of CityScape) to the Arizona State Capitol. The first pride parade in Phoenix took place in 1981, and it was organized by the Lesbian & Gay Pride Planning Committee, which was led by Kirk Baxter and BJ Bud.
In June 1977, the first gay pride week was organized in Phoenix by the city’s LGBTQ+ community at the time.
Phoenix has had a history of hosting gay pride-themed events even before the first pride parade was held in 1981.
