Media Advisory

For Immediate Release: June 1, 2026

Contact: Meghan McNamara, meghan@grand-cyan-rabbit.67-208-42-13.cpanel.site, 847-922-1213

What: First annual Williamsburg Area Pride festival
When: Saturday, June 27, 12 p.m.
Where: Jamestown Beach Event Park, 2205 Jamestown Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23185

Williamsburg, VA – Virginia Organizing will be hosting its first annual Williamsburg Area Pride festival on June 27 from 12 to 5 p.m. at Jamestown Beach Event Park. This is the first large-scale pride event in James City County and will fill the geographic gap between pride events on the Peninsula and in Richmond. Community members from all areas are welcome. 

The event will feature family-friendly activities, including arts and crafts, face painting, vendor tables, a photo booth, themed interactive activities, and a DJ. There will also be food trucks serving southern-style cuisine, BBQ, Chilean food, Italian ice, and more. After the event, festivities will include an after-party (18+) at Virginia Beer Company in the heart of Williamsburg from 5 p.m. to close. 

For more information and a list of sponsors for the event, click here. 

Community members have shared excitement ahead of the festival and what they believe it means for the area. 

“As a trans person who has lived in the area my whole life, I am extremely excited to have a pride event of our own made by our community. I really love my area, and spotlighting the amazing expression and joy in the queer community here for everyone in it to enjoy is deeply moving,” said Raegan Collier of the Williamsburg Area Chapter of Virginia Organizing.

Leaders of local religious congregations have also expressed their support for the festival as a positive step forward.

“As a pastor at a church with a large number of LGBTQ+ individuals and families in the membership, many of whom are incredibly anxious about our current sociopolitical climate, seeing the broader community rally for a large-scale pride festival is incredibly encouraging. There are too many mainstream voices that seek to disparage queer individuals,” said Rev. Kali Cawthon-Freels, Associate Pastor at Williamsburg Baptist Church. “Community events like these are essential for creating a genuine beloved community where we can all safely engage in community life as our full, authentic selves. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, it’s deeply healing to see so many of our local faith communities participate in the planning of this event.”

Reverend Lisa Green, Rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, shared that “supporting the [Williamsburg Area] Pride festival is a public expression of the congregation’s commitment to unity-in-diversity and welcome of all. We are so grateful for the gifts of our LGBTQ+ members and the wider community. This event gives us the opportunity to practice the message of the sign outside our front door: ‘Love your neighbor who doesn’t look like you, think like you, love like you, speak like you, pray like you, vote like you. Love your neighbor—no exceptions.” 

Williamsburg Area Pride, along with other local events, sends a timely message of support for vulnerable communities that have continued to be targets of hate. 

“The LGBTQ+ community is under attack, especially our vulnerable trans and nonbinary youth and immigrants. Williamsburg Area Pride aims not only to provide a day of fun, but also sends an important message that they are loved and valued, and that they have a refuge and home among Williamsburg’s progressive faith communities that stand together on the side of love,” said Rev. Jude Geiger, minister, Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists. “A Queer man myself, as hatred escalates toward our community, we need to take up more space. Come join us!”

Historic Area Religions Together (HART), a multifaith collaborative of local congregations, will also be holding a service in solidarity with Williamsburg Pride on Sunday June 28 at 2:30 p.m. at Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists.

To interview a spokesperson for Williamsburg Area Pride, please contact Meghan McNamara at meghan@grand-cyan-rabbit.67-208-42-13.cpanel.site or 847-922-1213.

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Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.