Stonewall Lives: Riverside's Inland Empire Pride Returns for Its Fourth Annual Festival

Riverside's Inland Empire Pride returns to White Park on Saturday, May 30 for its fourth annual festival, four years after its first gathering drew 50 people. Organizers are expecting more than 5,000 attendees.

David Giron, the organization's president, told The Raincross Gazette about the growth. "Our first event was a picnic in June of 2021 with a small but mighty attendance of 50 individuals that were seeking community," he said. "In 2022 we took a big leap of faith and put in countless hours of planning to host our inaugural PRIDE festival with [more than 1,000] attendees and every year since attendance has been increasing."

The festival is free to attend. Giron said community sponsorships make it possible. "Thanks to all of our local community partners that sponsor our festival we can make it happen, for example Truevolution being our presenting sponsor this year," he said. "And of course the small donations we receive from our community members — every dollar counts and it's because we come together that we can continue to make this happen."

Giron said this year's theme, Stonewall Lives, took shape in response to the national debate around LGBTQ+ rights. "Our fight has not stopped and we must continue to show up and fight for all of our rights," he said. "In a time where our community keeps getting attacked especially our trans siblings, we're creating a safe space, where we can all be celebrated and connect with one another. Everyone is still showing up in full force — our volunteers, performers, organizations and community partners."

The choice of White Park, the city's first public park, was also deliberate. "For us to host PRIDE in a place that has so much history and centrally located in downtown means a lot," Giron said. "It's telling the community that LGBTQ+ folks are here and a part of Riverside history."

The 2026 program includes more than 120 vendors, a Youth Zone, workshops and ASL interpretation. On the entertainment side, Giron pointed to rapper HYM as a highlight. "We have an amazing lineup for entertainment — singers from all backgrounds, trans performers, drag queens, an amazing Black queer rapper HYM that I absolutely love," he said. "He brings such an amazing show that no one will want to miss."

Also on the bill is Troy Kristoffer, a pop singer who served on the Riverside LGBTQ+ Pride board of directors as marketing director from 2021 to 2024 before leaving the board to pursue music full time. "I've always wanted to perform for Riverside Pride, but I was giving everything I had to the organization so I wasn't able to," Kristoffer said. "There will be set pieces, dancers and bangers. We're including crowd-pleasing covers and my own songs. It's going to be a party."

More information: Riverside's Inland Empire Pride Festival takes place Saturday, May 30, 2026, from noon to 9 p.m. at White Park, 3936 Chestnut St., in Downtown Riverside. Admission is free; RSVP for tickets at riversideprideie.org.