City of Pittsburgh prepares for Pittsburgh Pride events, Three Rivers Arts Festival

PITTSBURGH — Another big weekend is coming up in Pittsburgh, with thousands of people expected to kick off the 2023 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and celebrate 50 years of Pittsburgh Pride.

“We’re just really excited to welcome everybody back to downtown Pittsburgh,” said Maria Montano, the mayor’s press secretary.

Organizers said 75,000 people are expected to attend the 2023 Pittsburgh Pride Revolution, with events taking place downtown and in the North Side and Bloomfield neighborhoods. The parade will be held on Saturday at noon, starting near the intersection of 11th Street at Liberty Avenue, near the Strip District.

“Pride is political, it’s a celebration, but it’s also a call to action,” said Billy Hileman, secretary for the city’s LGBTQIA+ commission.

Members of Pittsburgh City Council and the LGBTQIA+ Commission presented a proclamation, declaring June as Pride Month Wednesday morning before festivities kick off later this week.

“It is a public recognition of the love that we have for ourselves, the love that we have for our community and what we bring to the world,” said Bruce Kraus of Pittsburgh City Council.

It’s just one of the events happening in the city this weekend as the 2023 Three Rivers Arts Festival makes its return for ten days of free music and art. Montano said attendees can expect to see an increase in police patrols, just as there are during other large-scale events downtown, as well as an additional security team brought in by organizers.

“There were tens of thousands of people that came into downtown Pittsburgh to celebrate pride, to celebrate Three Rivers Arts Fest, Juneteenth, to celebrate the Fourth of July…90,000 alone on Light Up Night. Everyone was safe, and we plan to do the same thing this summer,” Montano said. “We’re doing everything that we can as a city to ensure the safety of this event.”

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