5th Annual Alton Pride Festival
ALTON - Alton Pride hosted their fifth annual festival to bring the LGBTQ+ community together.
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On Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, Riverbend residents gathered in downtown Alton for the event. Juliet Steele, Alton Pride’s president-elect, expressed her excitement to welcome people to the festival and celebrate the community. She noted that organizing the event is a lot of work, but enjoyable for all who work with Alton Pride to make it happen.
“We have an incredible team of people all working hard,” she said. “When it actually happens, the feeling of pride, it’s just a wonderful feeling. All of us feel amazing. Exhausted, but absolutely amazing.”
The day was full of vendors, live music, drag shows and more fun. Hope Animal Rescues kicked off the morning with a puppy parade, followed by music by Pink Wednesday and RoomMade. A few drag performances and karaoke rounded out the event.
For Manuela Varela, the owner of Fruity Pineapple LLC, the decision to bring her business to Alton Pride was an easy one. This year marks the second time Fruity Pineapple has been represented at Alton Pride, and it means a lot to Varela to join the festivities.
“We love coming here,” she said. “The atmosphere is awesome. You can feel the love. It's just so beautiful seeing everyone come together this way.”
Liam Rorie, a volunteer, echoed Varela. He decided to volunteer at the fifth annual festival after he had a lot of fun as an attendee in years past. The mission behind Alton Pride resonates with Rorie, and he was proud to be a part of it this year.
“I wanted to volunteer this year because I have gone to Alton Pride in years past, and I wanted to get my hands dirty and help out and give other people the same experience that I got to have,” he explained. “Alton Pride has always been so much fun. It’s been a very inclusive place where I can be myself in the community. I wanted to help fulfill that experience for others.”
This is what Steele wants to hear. It’s important to her and the entire Alton Pride team that the festival remains a fun, inclusive, exciting space for LGBTQ+ folks and allies.
In addition to organizing the annual festival, Alton Pride gave out $4,000 in scholarships this year and hopes to do the same in 2027. They participate in the Alton Halloween Parade and organize a food drive every Thanksgiving, as well as various fundraisers and events every spring.
The presence of Alton Pride in this community means a lot to festival attendees like Kelly Wheeler. Wheeler noted the value of celebrating Pride in 2026.
“We love Pride. Every year we try to make every Pride in the area. Alton is by far our favorite, though,” Wheeler said. “It’s community. It's love. It’s companionship. It’s acceptance. It’s togetherness. It is just everything that we need in the world, especially right now. This is the one day of the year that I feel loved, freed, just accepted by everybody. There’s just so much love today, and that’s what we need right now in the world.”
For more information about Alton Pride, visit their official website or their official Facebook page.
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