Rainbow capes, bubbles and banners took over downtown Ithaca on Sunday as community members enjoyed pride with Pride in the Park festivities.
Ithaca celebrated pride in color with the three-day Ithaca Pride Festival 2026 highlighting Ithaca’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community and offering an experience for all ages. Sunday’s Pride in the Park hosted 70+ vendors with a mix of music, dance and drag performances.
The festival, hosted by The Ithaca Pride Alliance, began in 2024 and has been volunteer-run every year. Its theme, “United We Rise,” was displayed on merchandise across the festival; the design depicted ants of all colors climbing through a maze of soil, up to a line of emergent saplings.
Festivalgoers also did not let a Sunday rainstorm dampen the fun as the festival continued throughout the afternoon and into the early evening.
Alongside dozens of adult volunteers, Ash, a youth leader and volunteer for the festival, spread smiles as they walked through the crowds with a bubble gun and a friend.
In addition to the bubbles, the streets were filled with bright surprises — dogs outfitted in rainbow swag, colorful pinwheels dotting the sidewalks and trees wrapped with rainbow flags.
Organizers of this year’s festival prioritized making the event open to all ages, allowing children to venture freely from booth to booth. Children wore flags as capes, rode scooters and jammed out to live tunes.
Attendees grabbed bites to eat at food trucks stationed around the corner from the vendor tents.
Local drag queens performed and strolled through the park, with some even stopping to sparkle at the family-owned Babe’s Burger truck.
Buzzing conversation drifted through the festival, marking each street corner with chatter. Drag queens Just Alex and Dizzy DeScretion shared laughs while ordering a burger and chatted with the Babe’s Burger vendor.
Embodying the friendly environment, drag queen Noah Phence blew kisses to her friends across the Commons as she walked down the promenade.
Little acts of kindness were scattered throughout the festival. With a smile, an Ithaca High School senior roamed the crowd and handed out stalks of flowers as they watched dancers take the stage.
Around Dewitt Park, people could be seen holding flowers or wearing them tucked behind their ears.
Ithaca Pride takes a village, as it is fully volunteer-run every year. Volunteers supported vendors and performers, gave directions around the festival, sold merchandise, held raffles and provided general support to attendees.
Dancers from Mirage Belly Dance Troupe donned rainbow attire from head to toe and took to the stage with swishing rainbow flags. The performances gathered a crowd while its music spilled out for audiences to enjoy while strolling through Dewitt Park.
Bands, including CC-13, showed out with political beats, bringing messages of uprising and protest to an engaged crowd.
T-shirts adorned with this year’s theme, “United We Rise,” were available for sale at the merchandise tents alongside tote bags, tank tops, sweatshirts and screen prints for custom designs.
Other tents sold pride-themed pins, clothing and more for passersby to pick up.
Festivalgoers perused the festival’s tents while decked out in tons of colors, sparkles, jewelry and buttons.
Throughout the event, “Happy pride!” was a warm wish passed between strangers and friends alike.
Everett Chambala is an assistant news editor for the 144th board. He is working as the primary summer reporter for The Cornell Daily Sun through The Sun’s summer fellowship program.
Varsha Bhargava is the managing editor for the 144th board. She is working as a primary summer editor for The Cornell Daily Sun through The Sun’s summer fellowship program.
Everett Chambala is a member of the Class of 2027 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at echambala@cornellsun.com.
Varsha Bhargava is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is the managing editor for the 144th Editorial Board and was a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board. She can be reached at vbhargava@cornellsun.com.
