PrideFest Milwaukee hosted a record number of attendees at Henry Maier Festival Park this year, reporting a 21 percent increase over the previous year, parent organization Milwaukee Pride, Inc. announced Wednesday.
Attendance at the four-day festival, which was held June 7-10, totaled 45,400, up from 37,862 in 2017. It’s the largest year-over-year increase in the festival’s 31-year history, the organization said.
This year’s festival included several new features, including a launch party on Thursday, a new Ride with Pride motorcycle run and VIP Tea Dance.
“Attending an event of this size, complexity and quality, it may be hard to believe that we are an all-volunteer organization” said Michail Takach, vice president of Milwaukee Pride, Inc. “But here’s the honest truth: PrideFest Milwaukee would not be possible without hundreds of devoted, passionate, unpaid volunteers who come together every year to make this event happen for the community.”
Through its PrideFest Plus One Campaign, the festival also raised $6,079 for Milwaukee-based Diverse & Resilient.
PrideFest included performances from headliners The B-52s, Jussie Smollett, Daya, JoJo, Cash Cash and more than 300 other acts.
