Boone Pride returns to downtown Boone on Saturday June 28 for a Pride Parade and Festival. What started in 2022 as a small march on the sidewalks of King Street and a rally at The Jones House, has grown to include a parade down King Street and a half-day festival with vendors, live music, drag performances and food trucks. The Boone Pride Parade will begin at 12 noon in the upper parking lot of the Watauga Agricultural Conference Center. Plan to show up early! The parade is open to all LGBTQ community members and its allies. The Boone Pride Festival will kick off in the lower parking lot of the Watauga Agricultural Conference Center and run from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. The family-friendly festival will include face painting, Kids-Zone, Boone Pride T-shirts for sale, a complimentary cooling tent and over forty vendors, many of them small Queer owned businesses selling art, jewelry, and other goods. Festival entertainment will include live music, local Drag Queens and Kings from Ashe, Avery and Watauga Counties, and a headline performance by Washington D.C. drag artist Desiree Dik. Food trucks on hand will include The Cardinal Burger Wagon, The Tasty Traveler, and Valencia Flavors. Later that evening, a 21+ only Pride Afterparty, featuring local legends Missi V. Sour and Bubbles Liqueur, takes place at Lily’s Snack Bar. Tickets are $7.00 in advance or $10 at the door. Doors open at 9:00 p.m., the show begins at 10:00 p.m. and a dance party at midnight wraps up the evening.