The Dallas Arboretum celebrates Pride Month with Pride in Bloom on Saturday
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Dallas Arboretum celebrates Pride with an all-day festival for all ages and an evening event recommended for those 18 and older on Saturday, June 21.
From 10 a.m.-4 p.m., enjoy the gardens with the addition of music and shopping to add to the garden vibes. A vendor market runs all day featuring local vendors. DJ Dezi 5 adds music to the mix with pianist Brianne Sargent performing from noon until 2 p.m.
The nighttime celebration begins at 6 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. when the garden transforms into a Pride party. DJ Frances Jay emcees the evening event. The vendor market continues through the evening and Classic Chassis Car Club will be on hand with a display of some of its members’ antique autos.
Performing that evening are Sam Cormier from 6-6:45 p.m. Kameron Ross will be on stage from 7-7:45 p.m. Closing out the evening is Kevin Hawkins from 8-9 p.m.
While enjoying the evening’s musical performances, bring a picnic or pre-order dinner from Smoky Rose at SmokyRose.com/dallasarboretum. Available are choices of BBQ or a salad, sides dessert and drinks. Smoky Rose also caters the Arboretum’s Cool Thursdays Concert Series, so be sure to include the date — 06/21/2025 — of the Saturday evening event.
The Dallas Way founder Robert Emery says in a video posted on the Arboretum’s website that Dallas Pride and Pride in Bloom were both born out of protests against LGBTQ discrimination. Dallas Pride began after a verdict was reached in Baker v. Wade, which resulted in the Texas sodomy law being declared unconstitutional — at least temporarily.
Pride in Bloom began as members of the LGBTQ community protested the firing of an Arboretum employee, who was hired to create diversity programming, but was let go after she produced an event to welcome the transgender community to the facility.
After a series of protests caught the attention of several Dallas city council members, a resolution was negotiated, the CEO of the Arboretum retired and Pride in Bloom was born.
The now-annual event was not just successful, but has become the what Emery calls in the video “the best selling weekend of the entire summer.”
But Emery stresses, the protests took place “because we love the Arboretum. We wanted the Arboretum to live up to its greatest potential.”
He called Pride in Bloom a powerful partnership. For 40 years, the Dallas Arboretum and the Dallas rainbow community have existed in parallel universes, he said. Now the Arboretum and the Dallas LGBTQ community work together to produce one of the most relaxed Pride events in one of the most beautiful settings in North Texas.
Gary Sanchez is chairing this year’s event. He said they’re very proud that this is the fourth year of Pride in Bloom.
“For the first time, we’re consolidating the event to just Saturday but adding the 6-9 p.m. evening event,” he said.
The evening will be a cooler way to experience Pride in Bloom, he said.
“The Arboretum is a garden for all,” he said.
Afternoon and evening tickets to Pride in Bloom are available at DallasArboretum.com.