Timeline
A chronology of Greater Cincinnati’s Pride, compiled from the archives of Michael Chanak Jr., Phebe Karen Beiser, Bruce Beisner, and the Ohio Lesbian Archives. It’s a work in progress. Help us fill it in.
From the Cincinnati Homophile Organization in 1967 to a banner on Fountain Square in 1973, a small group of activists made the city see them, then fought to be recognized.
“Annie” (Mary Ann Lederer) founded the Cincinnati Homophile Organization in 1967. It is the earliest gay group in the area that Phebe Beiser of the Ohio Lesbian Archives has been able to trace.
In 1983, Beiser interviewed Annie about those years for Dinah, the publication of the Lesbian Activist Bureau. Read “Remembering the ’60s.”
The Cincinnati Gay Community (CGC), founded in 1972, held the city’s first Pride Celebration. It began Friday night, April 6, with a spaghetti dinner at St. John’s Unitarian Church attended by more than 150 people.
On Saturday, April 7, after brunch at the Badlands dance club, the CGC marched from Washington Park in Over-the-Rhine through downtown to Fountain Square, where a rally featured “live music, political speakers, and several theatrical skits.” The Independent Eye reported that “seventy-five people marched without incident”; other accounts put the number at about 70. Founding member Terry Flanigan recalled “much heckling along the route,” and only WCPO Channel 9 covered the event.
Mayor Theodore Berry, the city’s first African American mayor, declined to issue a proclamation. The CGC fell apart amid disagreements about a month later, and no Pride was held again until 1978. Read the full story.
Following the formation of the UC Gay Association in 1973, graduate student C. Powell Grant attempted to incorporate “The Greater Cincinnati Gay Society, Inc.” as a non-profit organization.
Ohio Secretary of State Ted W. Brown denied the corporate charter. Grant, represented by attorney Douglas Mansfield, filed a mandamus action taking the case to the Ohio Supreme Court. On July 10, 1974, the court upheld the denial in State ex rel. Grant v. Brown, holding that “the promotion of homosexuality as a valid lifestyle is contrary to the public policy of the state.”
Despite this roadblock, the University of Cincinnati officially adopted an anti-discrimination policy protecting gay and lesbian students that same year.
After the Cincinnati Gay Community dissolved in 1973, there was no Pride for five years, until the Greater Cincinnati Gay Coalition (GCGC) revived it in 1978.
On June 22, 1978, Mayor Gerald N. (Jerry) Springer signed a proclamation declaring Saturday, June 24, 1978 “Lesbian/Gay Pride Day in Cincinnati.”
A rally on Fountain Square marked the 10th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City. Mayor Bobbie Sterne issued a proclamation, and the Greater Cincinnati Gay Coalition (GCGC) was a sponsor of Pride.
The GCGC, which revived Pride in 1978, incorporated as a non-profit in 1984 and became known as the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition (GCGLC).
Rallies on Fountain Square, the AIDS crisis, P&G’s 1992 policy change, and the 1993 passage of Issue 3, which wrote Article 12 into the city charter and chilled public Pride for years.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay Coalition held L/G Pride Day on Sunday, June 22, 1980.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay Coalition held Pride on Fountain Square on Sunday, June 28, 1981.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay Coalition held L/G Pride Day on Fountain Square on Sunday, June 20, 1982.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay Coalition held Pride Day on Fountain Square. The two main speakers were Harry Hay, a founder of the Mattachine Society who helped establish the Radical Faeries, and Dr. Rhonda Rivera, an Ohio State University law professor recognized as a pioneer of LGBTQ+ rights.
Hay’s theme was “Gays — a separate people whose time has come. Share the Pride. Feel the Magic.”
Cincinnati residents Dr. Shane Que Hee and his late husband, Dr. Bob McNee, were instrumental in inviting Hay to the city. Period Yellow Pages listings called this “the 6th Pride” — counting 1973 and the years since 1978, though not consecutive years.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition, newly incorporated as a non-profit this year, organized “Gay Pride Week” from June 9 to 17, 1984.
Marchers gathered at City Hall and proceeded to Fountain Square for a rally organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition. Mayor Charlie Luken refused to issue a GLBT Pride Day proclamation.
The march was led by Dr. Kirk Prine and Pat North, vice president of the Coalition. Edward Hicks, co-founder of The GayBeat, recalled that “Kirk told the coalition flatly that there was going to be a march even if he were the only one.”
A photo of the speakers located in December 2020 shows Dr. Kirk Prine, former Cincinnati councilmember Guy Gugenberger, Pat North, Dr. Mike Mavroidis (founder of AIDS Volunteers of Greater Cincinnati), and Jan Scholler, who later served as Coalition president in 1987–1988.
On June 7, a political rally at City Hall was followed by a march to Fountain Square and then to the Dock (603 W. Pete Rose Way) for a festival behind the bar. Vice officers raised concerns with Coalition president George Vanover that the lot was city property, so the festival moved to the Dock’s front lot the following year. The Coalition then consisted of 22 gay, lesbian, and ally groups.
On Sunday, June 8, festival booths moved to Ruth Lyons Lane near the Metro, Side Door, and Subway bars for an art and crafts festival that included “drag queen mud wrestling” featuring Eartha Quake (Denny Welch).
On September 4, the Gay & Lesbian Coalition entered the Cheviot Harvest Home Parade.
A rally at Fountain Square and parade to the Dock focused on the upcoming March on Washington, with information on how to participate and a collection of donations. A festival at the Dock followed.
The Coalition also sponsored Gay Days at the Cincinnati Zoo and at Americana Amusement Park in Hamilton, Ohio (dates unknown).
A rally at Fountain Square was followed by a parade to the Dock and a festival there. (The Dock, at 603 W. Pete Rose Way, closed in spring 2018.)
The Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition held a Pride rally on Fountain Square.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition held a rally at Fountain Square followed by a parade to Sawyer Point.
The Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition held L & G Pride Day. Mayor David Mann gave a “tolerance day” proclamation to GLBT Pride.
Patti Herrmann was Coalition president; Matt Hon and Robbie Vasseur were Pride chairs.
Hamilton, Ohio held its first Pride festival, organized by the drag performer Eartha Quake (Denny Welch, also called “Junior”). About 100 community members from Greater Cincinnati attended, including Cheryl Eagleson and Michael Chanak. Denny Welch passed away on September 30, 1998, at age 38; Hamilton did not hold another parade or festival until June 5, 2021.
On June 13, the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition held a rally at City Hall and a march to Fountain Square.
Cincinnati voters passed Issue 3, commonly called “no special rights,” with 62% of the vote. The amendment added Article 12 to the city charter, preventing Cincinnati from protecting gays and lesbians. Stonewall Cincinnati and a coalition ran the “No on 3” campaign, including a single TV ad urging voters to reject it.
The night after the vote, newly elected Mayor Roxanne Qualls spoke at a rally on Fountain Square: “We are wonderful.”
Stonewall Cincinnati hired civil rights attorney Alphonse Gerhardstein to fight Article 12 in court. After four years of suits and appeals, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the amendment. Read the full story.
1993 Pride Marshals
The march began at City Hall with a rally at Fountain Square. Michael Chanak Jr. was named Pride Marshal in recognition of his work to include sexual orientation in Procter & Gamble’s non-discrimination policy, announced September 15, 1992.
In April 2018, P&G and CNN’s Great Big Story released The Words Matter, a 19-minute film about that work.
A rally at Bicentennial Commons was followed by a parade through downtown and a festival at the Dock. This was the first Pride organized by the Gay & Lesbian Community Center, created after the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Coalition dissolved.
The Gay & Lesbian Community Center held a Fountain Square rally and march to the Dock for a festival in its front parking lot. It was the last formal parade until 2000.
From 1996 through 1999, Cincinnati held no formal Pride parade or march. Many people point to the chilling effect of Issue 3. Others recall that some LGBTQ+ political groups urged keeping Pride “low key” while they pursued a legislative solution.
Pride stayed visible in smaller ways:
“Why isn’t there a parade?” A new committee stepped off from Burnet Woods to Hoffner Park, and Pride grew every year until it outgrew the neighborhood.
In the fall of 1999, Chris Good approached longtime activist Michael Chanak Jr. with a simple question: Why isn’t there a parade?
Good chaired a new independent committee, with Chanak as senior advisor, and moved Pride to Northside. On June 11, 2000, after a rally at Burnet Woods, the parade stepped off for Northside and ended with a festival at Hoffner Park. Honorary Pride Marshal: Peaches LaVerne. Pride Marshal: Dr. Shane Que Hee.
The full parade and festival have been held every year since. Read the full story.
2000 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by Chair Ken Colegrove and an independent committee. Honorary Pride Marshals: Peaches LaVerne and Scott McLarty.
2001 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by Chair Ken Colegrove and an independent committee. Honorary Pride Marshal: Peaches LaVerne.
2002 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by Chair Ken Colegrove and an independent committee. Honorary Pride Marshal: Peaches LaVerne.
2003 Pride Marshals
Eleven years after Issue 3, Cincinnati voters repealed Article 12 from the city charter with 53.75% of the vote: 68,062 “yes” votes. The campaign was led by Citizens to Restore Fairness, with help from the late Gary Wright, whom P&G gave a leave of absence from his role as company demographer. Ironically, the 2004 repeal measure was also “Issue 3.” Activists celebrated at Alchemize, a Cincinnati bar.
On March 15, 2006, the city amended its Human Rights Ordinance to protect LGBTQ individuals in employment and housing.
2004 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by Co-Chairs Ken Colegrove and Debra Randall with an independent committee.
Peaches LaVerne served as Queen Mum of the Parade and was driven through Clifton in a yellow VW convertible by ally Christopher L. Osborne. Pride Marshals were Kathy Laufman (GLSEN) and Patti Herrmann, who was unable to attend due to a family emergency.
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Community Center. Pride Marshal: Scott Knox.
2005 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Community Center. Pride Marshal: David Crowley.
2006 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Community Center. Pride Marshals: Marian Weage and Dr. Ronn Rucker.
2007 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Community Center.
Pride Marshals: Rev. Paula Jackson, Vic Ramstetter, Phebe Beiser, Worley Rodehaver of Greater Cincinnati GLBT News, and Dr. Larry Wolf, former UC geography professor.
2008 Pride Marshals
A rally at Burnet Woods, parade to Northside, and a two-day festival at Hoffner Park, organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay & Lesbian Community Center with Pride Chair Bill Abney. Pride Marshals: Cheryl Eagleson and Dr. John Maddux.
Attendance was estimated at 22,000–25,000. Recognizing the event had outgrown the Northside venue, the Center’s board chose the Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce as the new host organization. This was the last year the Center sponsored Pride.
2009 Pride Marshals
Back to Fountain Square, then Sawyer Point. Through a pandemic, a 50th anniversary, and crowds of 300,000.
After the 2009 Northside Pride outgrew its venue, the Gay & Lesbian Community Center handed Pride to the Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce. On July 4, 2010, the Chamber held the Cincinnati Pride parade and festival downtown on Fountain Square. Pride Marshals were Doris Marks Callis, Karen Aronoff-Holtmeier, Michael Cottrell, and Randy Bridges.
An independent committee led by Dan Wells held Northsiders Pride in Northside on August 14, and the first ever Northern Kentucky Pride, organized by Patti Herrmann, followed on October 3.
2010 Pride Marshals
The Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce held Cincinnati Pride downtown on Fountain Square. Pride Marshals: Megan Neal and Rusty Lockett.
Regional events that summer included Northern Kentucky Pride at Goebel Park in Covington on July 9, which honored Worley Rodehaver for journalism contributions to the local GLBT community, and Northsiders Pride at Hoffner Park on August 13, organized by Dan Wells.
2011 Pride Marshals
The Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce held Cincinnati Pride downtown at Sawyer Point. Pride Marshals: Adam Hoover (Marriage Equality Activists), Lynne Lefebvre (long-term volunteer and PFLAG board member), and Chris Seelbach, the first openly gay Cincinnati councilmember.
Northern Kentucky Pride was held July 1 at 7th & Bakewell Streets in Covington. The final Northsiders Pride took place at Hoffner Park on August 18, organized by Dan Wells; no further Northside Pride events were held.
2012 Pride Marshals
Marking 40 years since the first 1973 march, living Pride Marshals from past years were featured in a rain-soaked parade at Sawyer Point, organized by the Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce.
On July 22, the Chamber incorporated the Pride committee as “Cincinnati Pride, Inc.,” an Ohio non-profit. Incorporating trustees were Cathy Rogers, Shawn Baker, Anthony Phillips, Michael Cotrell, and Melissa Riley.
On November 13, 2013, the former LGBTQ+ community center in Northside closed.
2013 Pride Marshals
The first Pride organized by Cincinnati Pride, Inc. was held downtown at Sawyer Point. Pride Marshals: Ron Clemons and Crystal Loomis.
2014 Pride Marshals
Cincinnati Pride was held downtown at Sawyer Point, with Erika Ervin (Amazon Eve) as Marshal.
The IRS granted Cincinnati Pride, Inc. non-profit status later that year. (The source gives both November 23 and November 25, 2015.)
2015 Pride Marshals
Cincinnati Pride was held downtown at Sawyer Point. Marshals: Ron Hirth and Jen Henderson.
2016 Pride Marshals
Cincinnati Pride was held downtown at Sawyer Point. Marshal: Chuck Beatty.
2017 Pride Marshals
Cincinnati Pride was held downtown at Sawyer Point. Marshals: Del Shores (producer and writer), James Lee (International Mr. Leather 2018), and Keiran Marcum, a transgender youth from Lebanon, Ohio.
On October 18, Procter & Gamble announced scholarships at its annual GABLE North America meeting in Cincinnati: one to Michael Chanak Jr. for “Courageous Leadership,” and one to Lynwood Battle “For effective Allyship.” Battle was P&G’s chief EEO officer when the company added sexual orientation to its policy on September 15, 1992.
2018 Pride Marshals
Cincinnati Pride was held downtown at Sawyer Point. Marshals: Arykah Carter and Ariel Mary Ann, both trans activists.
2019 Pride Marshals
On April 24, 2020, Cincinnati Pride postponed its June 27 celebration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, the committee announced a new date of October 3, 2020, between Walnut and Elm and 2nd and 3rd Streets downtown. On September 1, the October event was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
The source notes this would have been the 39th Cincinnati Pride with a full parade or march, counting 1973, 1978–1995, and 2000 onward. By that count, the 2023 celebration marked 50 years since the first march, not 50 consecutive years of Pride.
On February 1, 2021, the Cincinnati Pride committee canceled the in-person parade and festival planned for June 26.
On Sunday, June 27, Cincinnati Pride and the Gay Chamber of Commerce held an outdoor market at Washington Park from 11 am to 4 pm, with some 20 local supportive organizations represented. It was not a substitute for Pride or its festival.
On June 5, Hamilton, Ohio held its first Pride parade and festival since 1992; it has been held annually since.
The Cincinnati Pride parade and festival returned. Pride Marshals were Tristan Vaught, co-founder of Transform Cincinnati and UC adjunct professor of women’s, sexuality, and gender studies, recognized for work with the trans community and trans youth; and Kersha Deibel, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, recognized for work on women’s health.
Northern Kentucky Pride returned to MainStrasse and Goebel Park on June 5, and Lawrenceburg, Indiana held Pride at the Dearborn County Fairgrounds on June 12.
2022 Pride Marshals
The Cincinnati Pride parade and festival marked 50 years since the first Pride march in 1973. The year’s Pride Marshals were a celebration of all marshals since the first parade.
The “Love Wins” mural, a partnership of Cincinnati Pride and ArtWorks created by local artist Mathew Dayler, was installed outside Queen City Radio downtown in celebration of the anniversary and incorporates elements of an original black-and-white photo from the first event at Fountain Square.
Other regional Prides included Northern Kentucky (June 4), Madeira (June 10), Lawrenceburg, Indiana (June 11), and Golf Manor Juneteenth (June 16).
2023 Pride Marshals
The Cincinnati Pride parade and festival featured transgender youth as grand marshals, in collaboration with Transform Cincinnati.
The city held its annual Pride flag raising at City Hall on May 31, and Northern Kentucky Pride was held in Covington on June 2. In June, Cincinnati Jew Folk reported that pro-Palestinian activists forced the resignations of two Jewish volunteers from Cincinnati Pride; Cincinnati Pride’s president issued a statement to the press.
2024 Pride Marshals
Pride Marshals were Missy Spears (Executive Director of Queer Kentucky), Storm Boyd (Chair of Equality Cincinnati), Stix Newman (Stixen Stones), a trans activist and drag performer, and Ron Clemons, a retired social worker and community activist who was also a marshal in 2014. WCPO reported organizers’ attendance estimate of 250,000.
On June 24, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported on Pride sponsorship, quoting P&G retiree Michael Chanak.
2025 Pride Marshals
Three Pride Marshals were announced: Cathy Allison of Crossport (transgender support), DJ Boywife (Shane Brouman), a DJ and community organizer, and Marco Trujillo, a Hispanic LGBTQ+ community advocate. Local news coverage reported attendance of 300,000.
2026 Pride Marshals