Nashville Pride festival taking place this weekend

Nashville's LGBTQ+ Pride festival returns this weekend with a parade, music and dancing.

The big picture: Dozens of musicians and about 50 drag performers will take the stage during the two-day festival.

• Tinashe, Icona Pop and Billy Porter are among the acts scheduled to perform.

Between the lines: Advocates say Pride festivities have taken on added importance in the face of state legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community. New episodes of the HBO show "We're Here" put a spotlight on those issues.

Flashback: The Pride festival traces its roots back to 1988 .

What they're saying: "[T]hey were really building the groundwork for an important space that is integral to the wellbeing, the happiness, the joy and the authenticity of an entire queer community in the state of Tennessee," Brady Ruffin, a Pride board member, told the Tennessean.

By the numbers: This year, Ruffin said organizers hope to match or exceed 2023's attendance, when more than 125,000 people came to the festival.

If you go: The Pride parade starts at 10am Saturday at Eighth Avenue and Broadway and marches into Lower Broadway. It is free to attend.

• The festival takes place at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park on Saturday and Sunday. General admission tickets for the park events are $10 per day or $15 for a weekend pass.

Zoom out: Other Pride-related events are planned around the city as well. More than 30 coffee shops are participating in the third-annual Pride Coffee Crawl through tomorrow, with specialty crafted LGBTQ-themed drinks.

What's next: Pride activities will continue next weekend when volunteers and city officials are expected to paint the city's first rainbow crosswalk at Woodland and 14th streets next to Lipstick Lounge.

See the festival lineup