Pride in the Desert

The history of gay pride events in Tucson began after the 1976 murder of Richard Heakin.^[1] Heakin, who lived in Nebraska, visited a friend in Tucson and was beaten to death by four teenagers while exiting a bar named Stonewall Tavern.^[3] The attackers were subsequently tried as juveniles, and sentenced to probation.^[2] At the time, hate crimes were often not punished at all.^[3] Heakin's murder became a motivation behind the foundation of Tucson Pride.^[1]

The first Tucson pride event, organized by an organization named Tucson Gay Coalition, was named the Gay Pride Festival & Memorial Picnic.^[4] It was held at Himmel Park on June 26, 1977, also the National Gay Pride Day that year.^[5]

In 1982, the Tucson Gay Pride Festival was cancelled amidst a statewide call to fight against LGBT discrimination and oppression, and the event was turned into a civil rights march from Tucson to Phoenix.^[5]

Since 1994, pride in Tucson is held in October.^[2]

In 2018, the parade, which was traditionally scheduled to take place on a Friday evening before the festival, was rescheduled to daytime hours, due to concerns within the LGBTQ+ community that holding a parade during the evening hours sends a bad message, as if the community is hiding in the shadows.^[6] In 2019, more than 5,000 people attended the event.^[4][7]

Over the years, Pride in the Desert has become a more family-centric theme.^[2]

Pride in the Desert became a virtual event for 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event took place on October 24.^[8] The event returned in-person in 2022, which was also the event's 45th anniversary.^[4][7][9]

Tucson Pride

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