Greater Cincinnati LGBTQ+ history · 1967 to today
We’ve been marching since 1973.
On April 7, 1973, seventy-five people walked from Washington Park to Fountain Square behind a banner reading CINCINNATI GAY COMMUNITY. This is their story, and the story of everyone who has marched, rallied, organized and celebrated since, including the years it wasn’t easy.
- people marched to Fountain Square on April 7, 1973
- 75people marched to Fountain Square on April 7, 1973
- long gaps when Cincinnati had no parade
- 2long gaps when Cincinnati had no parade
- people honored as Pride Marshals since 1993
- 45people honored as Pride Marshals since 1993
- people reported at Pride in 2026
- 300,000people reported at Pride in 2026
1973 – 2026
Not in a straight line
Each square is a year. Cincinnati has marched 35 times since 1973. Twice, Pride went quiet for years at a time. Point at a year to see what happened; click to jump to it.
Point at a square for details
- March or parade (35)
- Rally or Pride Day (9)
- Smaller events only (5)
- No public Pride (5)
Show as a list
- 1973: March or parade · First Cincinnati Pride Celebration & March
- 1974: No public Pride · State ex rel. Grant v. Brown
- 1975: No public Pride · No Pride held
- 1976: No public Pride · No Pride held
- 1977: No public Pride · No Pride held
- 1978: Rally or Pride Day · Pride Revived & First Mayoral Proclamation
- 1979: Rally or Pride Day · Stonewall 10th Anniversary Rally
- 1980: Rally or Pride Day · L/G Pride Day
- 1981: Rally or Pride Day · Pride Rally on Fountain Square
- 1982: Rally or Pride Day · L/G Pride Day on Fountain Square
- 1983: Rally or Pride Day · Pride Day with Harry Hay & Dr. Rhonda Rivera
- 1984: Rally or Pride Day · Gay Pride Week
- 1985: March or parade · March from City Hall to Fountain Square
- 1986: March or parade · City Hall Rally, March & Festival at the Dock
- 1987: March or parade · Fountain Square Rally & Parade to the Dock
- 1988: March or parade · Rally, Parade & Festival at the Dock
- 1989: Rally or Pride Day · Pride Rally on Fountain Square
- 1990: March or parade · Rally & Parade to Sawyer Point
- 1991: Rally or Pride Day · L & G Pride Day & "Tolerance Day" Proclamation
- 1992: March or parade · Hamilton's First Pride & City Hall March
- 1993: March or parade · Pride March & Michael Chanak Jr. as Marshal
- 1994: March or parade · Bicentennial Commons Rally & Dock Festival
- 1995: March or parade · Fountain Square Rally & Dock Festival
- 1996: Smaller events only · Years Without a Parade
- 1997: Smaller events only · Years Without a Parade
- 1998: Smaller events only · Years Without a Parade
- 1999: Smaller events only · Years Without a Parade
- 2000: March or parade · Northside Revival: The Parade Returns
- 2001: March or parade · Northside Pride, Second Year
- 2002: March or parade · Northside Pride
- 2003: March or parade · Northside Pride
- 2004: March or parade · Northside Pride & the Queen Mum
- 2005: March or parade · Northside Pride
- 2006: March or parade · Northside Pride
- 2007: March or parade · Northside Pride
- 2008: March or parade · Northside Pride
- 2009: March or parade · Final Northside Pride
- 2010: March or parade · Pride Returns Downtown
- 2011: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride on Fountain Square
- 2012: March or parade · Pride Moves to Sawyer Point
- 2013: March or parade · 40th Anniversary & Founding of Cincinnati Pride, Inc.
- 2014: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride at Sawyer Point
- 2015: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride & IRS Non-Profit Status
- 2016: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride at Sawyer Point
- 2017: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride at Sawyer Point
- 2018: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride & P&G GABLE Honors
- 2019: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride at Sawyer Point
- 2020: No public Pride · Canceled due to COVID-19
- 2021: Smaller events only · In-person parade canceled; outdoor market at Washington Park
- 2022: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride Returns
- 2023: March or parade · 50th Anniversary of the First Pride March
- 2024: March or parade · Transgender Youth as Grand Marshals
- 2025: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride Draws 250,000
- 2026: March or parade · Cincinnati Pride Draws 300,000
Why the gaps? Read “Not in a Straight Line” →
The timeline
Four chapters of Pride
Stories
The people behind the dates
April 7, 1973: The First March
Seventy-five people, a hand-lettered banner, and a walk from Washington Park to Fountain Square. Do you recognize anyone in the photo?
The Words Matter
How one employee spent five years persuading Procter & Gamble to protect its gay and lesbian workers, decades before federal law did.
Issue 3 & the Eleven-Year Fight Over Article 12
In 1993 Cincinnati became the city that wrote discrimination into its charter. It took until 2004 to write it back out.
“Why Isn’t There a Parade?”
After four years without a march, Chris Good asked a simple question, and Pride moved to Northside.
Remembering the ’60s
“Annie” founded the Cincinnati Homophile Organization in 1967. In 1983, Annie told Phebe Beiser what it was like.
Love Wins: Fifty Years Since the First March
For the 50th anniversary of 1973, Cincinnati honored every Pride Marshal at once and painted a mural in Over-the-Rhine.
The library
Read the originals
Proclamations, newspaper clippings, court records, letters, posters, audio and video: 68 primary sources, from the 1973 Independent Eye to coverage of Pride in 2026.
Browse the library →
Exhibit
Vibrant Kin
Fifty years of activism in 15 exhibit panels, from the Ohio Lesbian Archives.
View the panels →
Add your voice
Were you there?
This history is built from more than 100 interviews and the memories of people who lived it. Share a story, a photo, a flyer, or a correction. We read every one.
Share a memory →