By Johnny Trlica 

The beat goes on! The streets of downtown Houston will be fabulous once more. After two years of Covid-induced cancellations and restrictions, the Bayou City’s Pride Parade returns this month for a festival and parade. 

The 44th annual Houston LGBT+ Pride Celebration will take place downtown at Houston City Hall, 901 Bagby St, on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Festival hours are 1 pm to 6:30 pm. 

Later that evening, beginning at 7:30 pm, hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ people, their friends and allies will jam the streets for the return of the Pride Parade. Houston’s Pride celebrations are among the largest in the country with crowds topping 700,000 by some estimates. 

The theme for the 2022 festival and parade is “The Beat Goes On.”  

This year’s Grand Marshals were announced in April at a kickoff ceremony at JR’s Bar and Grill in Montrose. Four were selected in online voting. They are: Danielle Houston, MSPH/ally; Juliann Losey/non-binary, non-conforming; Isabel Longoria/female identifying; and Travis Torrence/male identifying.  

And the two Grand Marshals selected by Pride Houston Board of Directors are Brandon Wolf/Honorary Grand Marshal, and Hatch Junior, Montrose Center/Trendsetter. 

Until 2015, Houston’s parade took place in the gayborhood of Montrose. The first few parades were frequently sparsely attended affairs on hot Sunday afternoons. As LGBTQ+ people became more and accepted in the country, the parade was moved to Saturday evenings. The crowds continued to grow and eventually the parade surpassed Montrose’s capacity to host and was relocated to downtown.  

With growth comes change. Pride Houston is now Pride Houston 365. Their updated website reads: “Historically, Pride Houston is a volunteer-run, 501(c)(3) non-profit that has organized the official Houston LGBT Pride Celebration® every year in Montrose or downtown Houston. As of 2022, no longer will we only celebrate in June. 

“Introducing Pride Houston 365. We will continue to strive to promote equality and inclusion through celebration and plan for numerous LGBTQIA+ events all year long to support our community. 

“Why rebrand? Full transparency coupled with a goal of celebrating Houston’s LGBTQIA+ community year-round, raising critical funds for youth scholarships, and offering ongoing health and wellness education takes time.  

“And it equals a 365 days-a-year commitment.” 

Happy Pride!