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St. Louis Shines with Year-Round Pride: Fall Festivities and LGBTQ+ Community Highlights

This content was originally published by Explore St. Louis

St. Louis celebrates Pride year-round, but fall is an especially fun time as Tower Grove Pride takes over Tower Grove Park. The community-powered festival features a joyful, multihued parade – plus, live music on two stages, outdoor story time and arts and crafts for all. Tower Grove Pride aims to support and promote social justice for every disadvantaged and undervalued community.

In addition to the festival, St. Louis boasts a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community, which encourages people to live their authentic lives. Colorful, trendy, diverse and inclusive, The Grove neighborhood should be your first stop if you’re new to town. Queer-friendly establishments with exuberant crowds include HandleBar, Just John, Prism and Rehab Bar & Grill, where there’s no pressure to be anyone but yourself.

On South Broadway, Bar:PM is another popular spot, and a lot of people in the LGBTQIA+ community live near South Grand Boulevard, which boasts the most diverse collection of restaurants in St. Louis – and that’s not an overstatement! Within six blocks, you can dine on Turkish kebabs, Ethiopian injera, Italian arancini, Indian curry, Cantonese steamed buns, all-beef hot dogs and vegan tacos, just to name a few delicious bites.

The St. Louis region also offers seasonal events for daily entertainment. As you explore Forest Park, stop by the Missouri History Museum to experience Gateway to Pride, which presents the first-ever full-scale exhibit on the area’s fascinating LGBTQIA+ history. As a result of a decade-long, community-driven collecting initiative, Gateway to Pride showcases meaningful artifacts, striking images and insightful oral histories. The free exhibit runs until July 6, 2025.

Throughout the fall and winter, Chicago-based artist Brendan Fernandes, who was born in Kenya in 1979, will present a new dance performance series in response to the Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s exhibition Scott Burton: Shape Shift. Fernandes’ series of duets will engage with Burton’s “furniture sculptures” – artworks that were originally made for public use. Like Burton (1939–1989), Fernandes will draw on gestures and signaling within gay cruising culture as part of an ongoing exploration of queer camouflage, visibility and embodiment. Highlighting the continued impact of Burton’s legacy on artists today, Fernandes’ project will also activate the Pulitzer’s main museum building, which was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, in unique ways. Catch a performance on Nov. 8 and 9 or Jan. 17 and 18.

On Nov. 15, Tig Notaro will bring her powerful storytelling, impeccable timing and deadpan comedy to the Flyover Comedy Festival, and on Nov. 29, Nina West will host A Drag Queen Christmas at Stifel Theatre.

The fun doesn’t stop there! For more spirited activities and showy celebrations that connect participants to St. Louis’ dynamic LGBTQIA+ community, visit explorestlouis.com.