By A. Socorro of Southern Illinois Pride Collective

Published June 20, 2026 • 3 min read 

CARBONDALE, IL. —  Community members, local organizations, businesses, and entertainers gathered on the downtown strip in Carbondale, IL, on Saturday, June 13th, to take part in activities and performances at PrideFest Carbondale: Pride On The Strip 2026. It is estimated that there were over 1100 attendees, which is the largest attendance for this event to date, hosted by Southern Illinois Pride Collective.  Southern Illinois Pride Collective was formed in June of 2023, addressing the need for an organization dedicated to hosting this large-scale event.

Pride On The Strip offers local organizations and businesses the opportunity to register for booth spaces in the vendor section, and had over 50 registrants this year. The vendor section was located on the First Mid Bank & Trust parking lot - a central and very visible location on Carbondale's downtown strip. Other events, like drag story hour and a community art project, took place at other locations on the strip during the event.  By holding events for various age groups in multiple locations, this allowed attendees to visit these community spaces, encouraging the exploration of local businesses, restaurants and community centers. Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center hosted Drag Story Hour and puppet making with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, aka "The SOIL Sisters", while an event-wide scavenger hunt took place at participating locations, and live DJ at PK's.

The party continued into the evening and late-night hours for attendees ages 18 and up, with performances by The Fine & Bawdy Wenches, a Southern Illinois-based burlesque group, followed by a drag show and fundraising raffle at Booby's.