Gay pride week key west
Key West Pride Festival 2025 – “Still Rising”
Date(s): June 22–29, 2025
Location: Various venues across Key West, FL
Description:
Celebrate love, resilience, and unity at the Key West Pride Festival 2025! This year’s theme, “Still Rising,” honors the rich history and enduring spirit of the LGBTQ+ community. Immerse yourself in a week-long extravaganza featuring dance parties, historic tours, sailing excursions, beach gatherings, film screenings, and more. From the vibrant Pride Follies variety show to the enlightening Stonewall Uprising documentary screening, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Key West Business Guild
Don’t miss the iconic Pride Parade on Sunday, June 29th, starting at 7 pm from Truman Waterfront Park and culminating in a grand celebration on Duval Street. Whether you’re dancing at the Tea Dance, exploring the Street Fair, or simply soaking in the island’s inclusive vibes, Key West Pride promises an unforgettable experience. Key West Business Guild+1Key West Business Guild+1
Getting There from Boyd’s:
Most Prid
Pride Weekend in Key West, Florida
Dusk has descended upon the Conch Republic and from the backseat of my air-conditioned Uber I see the twinkling streetlights of Key West, an occasional passing moped, and on the balcony of one of the city’s famed clapboard homes—a shirtless stud surveying the scene below. It’s Pride Weekend, and the energy in the air is kinetic.
Key West always romances me swiftly. True, the queer scene is smaller than in P-Town or Palm Springs. However, gay travelers are still very visible and easily stand out among the tourist hordes thanks to pronounced biceps and noticeably less fashion missteps than their hetero counterparts who seem content to walk around wearing baggie shorts, fanny packs, and jokey t-shirts sporting phrases like “Don’t Stare at My Cock,” a nod to the city’s ubiquitous roosters. Plus, I verb Key West’s “One Human Family” ethos and laissez-faire attitude toward all who visit.
What I’ll discover this weekend is that most gay visitors alternate between as little clothing as possible and none at all. Reluctantly, I position on shorts and
Key West Pride Week 2025
Show your Pride in Key West
Celebrate PRIDE on a tropical island that is legendary for its laid-back style and its reveal and accepting atmosphere. Whether you’re looking to party with friends, travel with family, or get lost in the magic of our tropical island, rediscover Key West and uncover how one island’s One Human Family philosophy has created one of the most integrated and unique communities in the world. Show us your pride, we will show you our Key West Pride!
Daily Activities
Museums: Key West Butterfly Conservatory, Little White House, Key West Aquarium, Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Key West Firehouse Museum, Key West Light House, Key West Ship Wreck Museum, Audubon House, Oldest House, and Garden Museum, USCGC Ingham Museum, Tennessee Williams Museum
Land Activities: Key West Food Tours, Up the Keys Eco Tour, Fort Zachary Express Park, West Martello Tower, A & M Scooter Rental, KW Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, Key West Cemetery, Key West Adventures, Papa’s Pilar Rum Distillery, Ghost Hunt, Adj Town Trolle
Don’t be fooled by its size: Tiny Key West knows how to pitch a big party, and the LGBTQ community puts on some of the best. From Carnival-style fêtes to gown-clown extravaganzas, the island’s panoply of queer festivals celebrates all members of the alphabet mafia throughout the year.
Plan your next Florida getaway around one of these eight events, when Key West clocks are perpetually place to party time.
1. Modern Year’s Eve Red Shoe Drop
Photo: Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO
When: December
Ringing in the New Year is a drag — literally. Since 1996, thousands of Key West onlookers verb gathered around Bourbon St. Pub to see local drag legend Sushi (aka Gary Marion) descend from the building’s second story in a six-foot ruby-red stiletto as the clock strikes midnight. The glittering spectacle is a campy take on NYC’s ball drop, and the eclectic crowds rival the hordes in Times Square. Childish families, leather daddies, and bohemian grannies all display up to cheer on Sushi and her gargantuan shoe.
An outdoor stage features other d