Charlotte Pride is going virtual this weekend to celebrate with the community, and it will all be live streamed.

After the COVID-19 pandemic led Charlotte Pride organizers and staff to cancel the Uptown festival and parade for a second straight year, they got to work building a virtual studio.

Events kicked off Friday with the virtual Charlotte Pride Drag Pageant, and the weekend will be full with online pride events.

What You Need To Know

  • Charlotte Pride's virtual "Pridestream" starts at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, October 23
  • Charlotte Pride asked for businesses and individuals to volunteer to hold smaller watch parties
  • Pridestream is just a part of the planned virtual weekend, with some in-person activities mixed in

Charlotte Pride’s website has a full schedule of events and how to stream each one.

There will also be some in-person events to celebrate pride this weekend. On Saturday at 1:00 p.m., the Mask-Queerade Bar Crawl starts in South End.

But the main highlight is Saturday’s Charlotte Pridestream, which will begin at 7:00 p.m. and stream live over YouTube, Vimeo, the Charlotte Pride website and other services. 

“This is completely unlike anything Charlotte Pride has ever done before,” Matt Comer said.

Comer, Charlotte Pride’s communications director, said the virtual events were a quick pivot after they decided to cancel an in-person pride. 

“It’s a really unique, live, showcase of artists and entertainers from the local and regional area, and it’ll be broadcast live from iHeart Radio,” Comer said.

Surrounded by video and audio technology, ordered specifically for the live stream, Comer said the event will be a good opportunity to gather with friends in smaller groups and watch online.

It’s why Charlotte Pride is relying on local businesses and individuals to volunteer to host virtual watch parties.

One of those volunteers is Kevin Cooper at Sidelines.

“We’ve always tried to work with the gay community here in town and do what we can to support all aspects of the gay community. This is just one way to give back,” Cooper said.

Cooper has owned Sidelines for 15 years and wanted to create an LGBTQ sports bar in the city when he opened. 

Now, he also owns the video dance bar next door and said both spaces are meant to be inclusive and welcoming to all.

“These two bars can be as inclusive and accepting of the community and be there for the community as they can be. Whether you want to dance, or watch music videos, or watch sports. There’s something for everybody here and everybody’s accepted,” Cooper explained.

Cooper said the two biggest TVs in his bar will be tuned to the virtual Pridestream Saturday night. Already, he said the event was gathering attention and clicks on the bar’s social media pages.

Back at Charlotte Pride’s office, Comer said it was crucial to make sure the community still recognized pride as the fight for LGBTQ rights in North Carolina continues.

“It’s still very much a time when the community comes together and says, ‘We are here, we are fighting for equality and we have a purpose and a movement for the future,” Comer said.