Bisbee’s first real Pride Festival occurred Father’s Day Weekend in 2005. It began when a small group of people got together and started discussing what could be done to bring people to town in the summer. As most of the organizers were gay, they thought that a Pride celebration in Bisbee would be a great way to show off the town, the town’s diversity and its acceptance of others.
They chose Father’s Day weekend since at the time there were no conflicting Pride celebrations in the state. What started as a small celebration of mostly local gay men and lesbians has today grown into the Bisbee gay pride festival bringing hundreds of people from around the country with some attendees even coming from other countries. When they arrive they find that small town of Bisbee (population 5,500) is not only accepting of gay people, but the city council has passed the first civil union ordinance in the state of Arizona.
An important aspect of the work done by Bisbee Pride centers around support of our community. A primary goal of Bisbee Gay Pride is to operate as a community service organization, supporting various needs in our community. Bisbee has always been a city of great diversity, and Bisbee Gay Pride is committed to working both exclusively and in conjunction with other organizations to continue this legacy. Over the years Bisbee Pride has provided community support in various ways – through direct donations, volunteer labor, and other kinds of support.
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