By Kevin Ferrisi –

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – Big changes are coming to Hartford’s Pride celebration this year as the city prepares to debut a newly reimagined event under a new name. Following the launch of the Hartford Pride Center last year, the annual celebration formerly known as Hartford Pride has been rebranded as Capital City Pride and moved from its traditional September date to June to coincide with Pride Month and reflect a new direction for the event. The revamped event, set for Saturday, June 13th in Hartford, will take a different approach from past years, introducing new ideas and formats aimed at reshaping how Hartford’s Pride celebration is experienced throughout the capital city.

Hartford’s Pride celebration has a long history rooted in the work of Connecticut Latinos Achieving Rights and Opportunities, better known as CLARO, which organized the festival for 16 years and helped grow it into one of Connecticut’s most visible LGBTQ+ celebrations. Last year, The Health Collective took over as lead organizer for the first time. This year, the newly opened Hartford Pride Center is taking the reins of the event, ushering in a new chapter with the launch of Capital City Pride.

The transition in leadership behind Hartford Pride and its evolution into Capital City Pride stems from a period of organizational change within CLARO, which has served as the legal entity behind the festival since 2006. CLARO’s founder, Charlie Ortiz, stepped back from his role as executive director due to family health concerns and a gradual reduction in capacity over recent years. During that time, The Health Collective took on organizing responsibilities to ensure the event continued. David Grant, who previously served as executive director of The Health Collective, later assumed leadership of CLARO and went on to establish the Hartford Pride Center under CLARO’s ownership, which now oversees the rebranded Capital City Pride. ConnecticutDrag.com caught up with David Grant to learn all about the upcoming changes this year.

Hartford Pride Center

The newly formed Hartford Pride Center was created this year with the goal of filling what David Grant describes as a missing piece in Connecticut’s network of LGBTQ+ support organizations. Founded in 2025 by David Grant, the Hartford Pride Center also serves as the home of Capital City Pride, which now operates as one of its core programs. The idea grew out of both local needs and broader concerns affecting the community, including housing, transportation, and food insecurity, as well as what he described as increasing hostility toward LGBTQ+ people. 

“The Harford Pride Center was created primarily because the state of Connecticut has three urban centers: Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. And Hartford was the only urban center that didn’t have a Pride center, and we are also the state capitol.” David explained. He added that the center aims to serve as a trusted place where LGBTQ+ residents can access services while also being supported through cultural and artistic programming that spans drag, visual art, music, literature, and culinary work.

New Vendor Model

The shift from Hartford Pride to Capital City Pride reflects both a long history in the city and a deliberate change in direction for how the event is structured and experienced. Hartford’s Pride roots can be traced back to 1982, making it one of the state’s longest-running celebrations, but the format has become familiar to the point of predictability for some attendees. The rebrand comes as the event moves under the Hartford Pride Center and adopts a new focus on arts and community engagement rather than a traditional Pride model centered on corporate sponsorships and tabling.

“We asked ourselves how we can create a cultural celebration in the city of Hartford that will amaze and surprise people,” David said. He added that the goal is to highlight artists of all kinds while encouraging attendees to connect more directly with one another, signaling what organizers describe as a broader shift in how Pride will be experienced in the capital city.

The celebration is shifting away from traditional vendor booths in favor of more interactive community engagement, with participating organizations offering activities, resources, and calls to action throughout the day. David Grant has worked closely with participating organizations to help create a more collaborative experience for this year’s event. A separate queer market will also take place on the adjacent Pratt Street, providing vendors and local groups with space to sell merchandise and connect with attendees. 

Surprise Drag Performances

This year’s Capital City Pride will place a strong emphasis on creating space for emerging drag artists, alongside more established performers in Connecticut’s drag scene. David Grant said the goal is to give newer artists a platform at a major Pride event, rather than relying solely on familiar names that already have an established following. To help support that effort, he pointed to a partnership with Karaoverse, a new digital platform led by Jonathan Whitford that connects performers with venues, producers, and other artists while also allowing them to manage bookings, set rates, and promote their work independently.

David said most of the performers were booked through Karaoverse for this year’s event and are newer artists who may not have had access to large stages in the past. He added that Capital City Pride will also shift away from a traditional main stage format in favor of pop-up drag performances across Pratt Street, introduced throughout the day by a DJ in unannounced locations. “It creates the vibrancy along the street because people don’t know when the next performance is going to happen or who the next performer is,” David explained, noting that the format is designed to keep attendees engaged and encourage a sense of discovery throughout the event.

See you there!

Capital City Pride, set for June 13, 2026, will serve as a broader showcase of LGBTQ+ culture, history, and community life in downtown Hartford. For more information visit hartfordpridecenter.org.

Pride on Pratt (11:00AM – 5:00PM)
An all-ages street fair in collaboration with the Pratt Street Merchants Association, featuring pop-up drag performances, a drag queen story hour, restaurant specials, and family-friendly activities.

PRIDEfest & Concert (5:00PM – 9:00PM)
A high-energy concert for a more mature audience in collaboration with Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. This outdoor music festival will feature performances by local LGBTQ+ artists, DJs, food trucks, and vendors.

Pride Afterparty (10:00PM – 2:00AM)
A ticketed celebration at Chez Est in Hartford to close out the day with featured performances by local drag icons.