Millersville Celebrates Pride: PrideFest 2024

Show your pride at Millersville's 11th annual PrideFest! PrideFest will be held on Friday, October 25, 2024, in the Student Memorial and the Reighard Multi-Purpose Room. To celebrate National Coming Out Day, which is earlier in the month, Millersville University holds an annual PrideFest for students and community members. PrideFest was organized to celebrate students who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community who are not normally on campus during June, the official month of pride. National Coming Out Day happens to occur while classes are in session which inspired the University to hold a festival to provide LGBTQIA+ students a safe space to celebrate who they are and enjoy a fun day of activities.

Andrew Kline, a history graduate student, and the chair of the planning committee, explains how important it is to hold PrideFest at Millersville: "PrideFest really is an event for LGBTQIA+ students. This is an event that promotes community, which is especially important. In the times that we are living in, now more than ever, it is important to ensure these students feel accepted and included. There have been students who have come out during PrideFest and shared that it is the first time that they have felt seen."

Each PrideFest finishes with a drag show, hosted by local drag queen, Miss Nevaeha "JZA" Le'Vixenn, with special guests who were contestants on the popular television show, RuPaul's Drag Race. This year's guest star is RuPaul's Drag Race runner-up and RuPaul's Drag Race All-Star Season 5 winner, Shea Coulee! Coulee has worked with well-known artists such as Madonna, Lady Gaga and Chappel Roan.

To promote the drag show, the planning committee is giving away VIP tickets to students who enter their giveaway. These selected students will get the chance to have front-row seats, go backstage and meet the queens after their performance. Students will also be handpicked during PrideFest to upgrade their tickets to VIP.

This year, Campus Life has partnered with Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation to provide students with resources that will empower them. "The goal of PrideFest is to create a safe space for students who are a part of the LGBT+ community," Kline adds.

Tickets for the PrideFest Drag Show are on sale at the Ticket Office or online at https://bit.ly/3BvA2zM. Current students who present their ID can purchase one ticket for five dollars. MU faculty, staff and non-MU college students can purchase tickets for $10. Tickets are $20 for community members and alumni.