Organizers of the annual Tucson Pride festival cancelled the 2026 event and dissolved the organization's board.
The two-member board of Sam Cloud and Jeff Fulgham announced the move in a note posted on the Tucson Pride websiteΒ and its social mediaΒ Wednesday afternoon β exactly one month before the 2026 festival was to take place Feb. 21.Β
"This decision was not made lightly. We recognize the deep importance Tucson Pride has held in our community since 1977, serving as a space of visibility, advocacy, celebration and resilience for nearly five decades," the announcement read. "We are profoundly grateful to every volunteer, sponsor, artist, activist and community member who has supported Tucson Pride throughout its history."
Tucson Pride is usually held in September or October, but was postponed last fall to November, then pushed back to the February date, reportedly because of scheduling conflicts with other Tucson events.
Wednesday's announcement did not give a clear explanation for the move, which took some members of the LGBTQ+ community by surprise.
A Tucson pride guest smiles as their butterfly wrap flows in the wind during the 46th annual Tucson Pride festival in Reid Park on Sept. 30, 2023. The group's board of directors has cancelled the 2026 event and dissolved Tucson Pride.Β
"I was not shocked about the the cancelation, because that was pretty evident. You can't pull off an event that big and that important with that many moving parts in such a short period of time," said Tucson LGBTQ+ activist Scott Blades. "But I was really surprised that they made the decision to shut down the whole organization."
"If I'm being honest with you, today, I've probably cried three times," said Rick Morey-Wolfe, who attended his first Tucson Pride when he was 16 and had been involved with the organization since 2017, including programming the main stage live entertainment in 2023. He now documents the LGBTQ+ community, including Tucson Pride, through Tucson Queerstory, a project started in 2019 to make a historical record of the community before the AIDS generation is gone.
Blades and Morey-Wolfe said Tucson Pride has been struggling since 2017, when its former board president Jimmy West was charged with embezzling from the group; he later pleaded guilty to felony theft in the case.
Morey-Wolfe said supporters pulled together to raise thousands of dollars to put on the festival that year.
After a two-year hiatus, Tucson Pride kicked off its 45th year with a parade at Amory Park on Friday night.
Festivities continue this weekend, with OUTober Fest 2022 at Reid Park on Saturday and the Tucson Pride Drag Brunch at HighWire Lounge on Sunday.
But in recent years, the board, to attract a larger audience, started bringing in big-name national headliners, including the Las Vegas ABBA tribute band Abbacadabra in 2023 and The Lady Gaga Tribute in 2024.
"The community has been very steadfast about not hiring high end, expensive headliners and featuring local talent,"Β Morey-Wolfe said.Β "And for some reason, this specific group of people have continued to ignore that year after year, which has created debt year after year, and that's pretty much the bottom line."
Morey-Wolfe said attendance at the 2024 festival, held in late September, was down largely because of the unseasonably hot weather.
Neither Cloud nor Fulgham could be reached for comment Wednesday.
Tucson Pride was the first pride event in the state when it was launched in 1977. Phoenix Pride followed 13 years later in 1990.Β
