Trinity Pride Fest, happening Saturday evening, June 27 on South Main Street in Fort Worth,
is Tarrant County’s largest Pride celebration this year
STEVEN LINDSEY | Contributing writer
StevenCraigLindsey@GMail.com
On Dec. 12, 2025, Arlington Pride organizers and the event’s sponsor, the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health & Wellness, announced that this year’s annual Arlington Pride event would be canceled. They made the decision after the Arlington City Council voted 5-4 against reinstating LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections.
Though the loss of Arlington Pride deals a major blow to the city’s queer citizens and allies, the HELP Center has shifted its resources 15 miles to the west.
“The HELP Center has actually stepped up as a presenting sponsor this year,” said Roger Calderon, president of Trinity Pride Fort Worth, noting that the organization has been a sponsor ever since Trinity Pride’s inception in 2019.
Arlington Pride was known for its big-name performers, including drag stars from RuPaul’s Drag Race and well-known musical acts. Now that Trinity Pride is taking the reins to become the largest Pride event in Tarrant County, Calderon wants to build slowly.
“My initial plan for Trinity Pride is to really kind of solidify it as a community event, using local talent first. I took over as president two years ago, so my plan is really to get a good foundation first, before we move to bigger acts,” he said. “In 2024, we had David Archuleta, who was our headliner. But after the election, a lot of corporate support went away.”
Calederon said that even a lot of community support went away, at least in part, out of fear of DEI retaliation.
“The hope is that continued support and even more community involvement will allow us to expand the festival, and I hope to get us to a point again where we can have the David Archuletas again,” he added.
………………..
Festival Schedule
6:15 p.m.
Pride Comes to South Main Opening March, featuring local nonprofits groups and organizations with a finale by the Dallas Pride Colorguard
6:45 p.m.
Welcome Remarks at the South Main Stage by Roger Calderon and Fort Worth City Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck (District 9)
South Main Stage
Presented by HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health
7 p.m.: Turtle Creek Chorale
8 p.m.: The HomoPhones (from The Oak Lawn Band)
9 p.m.: August Edwards, JT Davenport
and Daniel Deon Scott Skyy
10 p.m.: DJ Amy H. Graves
The Bearded Lady Stage
Presented by RS Americas
6 p.m.: DJ Slut Punk
7:30 p.m.: Heavy Petal
9 p.m.: Hen and the Cocks
HopFusion Ale Works Stage
7:30 p.m.: Funky Town Follies featuring Caspian St. Clair, Cecil B. D’Ville Esq.,
Cris Darkhorse, Foster Chaos, Jester Tepes and Moan Jett
9 p.m.: Argentina vs Jordan
10:30 p.m.: Band TBD
South Main District Salon
7-11 p.m.: Aubrey’s Tacos and Tortas presents Club Reflections and Jackie O’s Drag Pop-Up featuring Angelique D. Rodriguez, Chrissy Flor, Alexx Mikyles Jackson, Divinity Deluxe, Sasha Slays, Aundra Mikyles
(Continuous performances; new show every 30 minutes)
Family Area at Gallery 440
Presented by Michaels
6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m.:
Community Story Time
8:30 p.m.: Rainbow Glow Party
Amphibian Stage and South Barber Shop
Explore Q Cinema: 30 Years of Fun in the Dark, a pop-up exhibit presented by YesterQueer at Amphibian Stage and enjoy screenings of Q Cinema favorites at South Barber Shop.
Q Cinema, Fort Worth’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival, returns this fall, Nov. 13-15, at Amphibian Stage.
……………………….
It’s also a conscious decision to differentiate Trinity Pride Fest from Arlington Pride a bit by refocusing on North Texas entertainers, which this year includes Turtle Creek Chorale, the HomoPhones and a pop-up drag showcase with a new performer every 30 minutes.
After a successful move last year from Magnolia Green Park to South Main Street, this year’s evening festival will once again take place both outside, along more than three-and-a-half blocks closed to traffic, and inside local LGBTQ+ businesses in the area.
“It’s all about finding very cool, fun, interesting ways to be able to use the street as a way to pro-vide entertainment and use the infrastructure,” Calderon said. “I like to call it kind of Gay Main Street USA. I grew up going to Disneyland, and I loved Main Street USA, because something was always happening. That’s kind of what I want this to feel like — like something’s always happening in many different spaces at once.”
Trinity Pride Fest will be the last major event in North Texas to wrap up Pride Month, and Calderon encourages people from all over DFW to come out to support this growing celebration.
“We have to realize how fortunate we are in Dallas-Fort Worth that we have these opportunities to be able to go support each other and in our various communities,” he said.
“Especially here in Texas, with everything that is happening here, all the systematic erosion of our rights, the fact that people are in their communities creating these events for visibility — we should all be supporting each other.”
After living in New York City for 19 years and attending the massive Pride parade and events there, Calderon believes there’s a place for smaller events.
“You can metaphorically wrap your arms around Pride, you can actually feel the energy and excitement, because people are proud that this is happening in their own backyard.
“Visibility is important, and being able to have these intimate Prides is good for people.”
When and if Arlington Pride will return remains unknown, but Calderon, his team, and sponsors all hope to use this momentum to grow Trinity Pride Fest in the years to come.
“I want to reiterate — because it was such a big deal when Arlington canceled — that even in the best of times, running a Pride organization in Texas is not easy. We’re just living in a different time now. I think we had a great honeymoon phase, and we just have to be more cognizant and more aware of what’s happening around us, and I know that Pride is just the most beautiful aspect of our community,” he says. “Pride is the most visible, but the stuff that happens throughout the rest of the year also needs to be important.”
Trinity Pride Fest takes place Saturday, June 27, from 6-11 p.m. on South Main Street. in Fort Worth. Because the event spans several blocks and the streets will be closed, enter “The Bearded Lady” in your GPS app to reach the general area. TrinityPrideFW.org.
