Rev. Anne Scalfaro and Eliza Schreibman, along with furry-friend Deacon, watch over the booth for Calvary Baptist Church at Aurora Pride and Latino Pride on Aug. 29. Scalfaro said the church set up a booth this year to “let everyone know they are loved by God.” PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado 
Caitlin Curtis, of Littleton, plays a fishing game at one of the Pride booths. PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado 
The Grupo Huitzilopochtli Dance Troupe performs a ceremony that signifies opening doors, which they analogized to celebrating coming out of the closet, at Aurora Pride and Latino Pride on Aug. 29. PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado 
Sister Poly Nator, of the Denver House of Perpetual Joy, watches performances at Aurora Pride and Latino Pride on Aug. 29. 
This year’s Pride event had booths from more than 60 vendors, including health providers, faith organizations and community groups. PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado 
A crowd watches the performances at the 2026 Aurora Pride and Latino Pride on Aug. 29. PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado 
Attendees and the Grupo Huitzilopochtli Dance Troupe participate in a friendship dance at Pride. PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado 
Attendees and the Grupo Huitzilopochtli Dance Troupe participate in a friendship dance at Pride. PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD, Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | After postponing some of last year’s event for safety concerns, Aurora Pride and Latino Pride returned this year with crowds celebrating on Saturday at the Winged Melody Park in the Highlands neighborhood.
“We are thrilled with how beautiful Winged Melody Park was for our event, and so thankful to Aurora Highlands, the city of Aurora, our board, and our community for showing up and supporting,” Aurora Pride organizer and Out Front Magazine Executive Editor Addison Herron-Wheeler said Monday. “Despite the rain and some technical issues, the event was a blast.”
Latino Pride organizer Jose Pablo Martinez said the event is more important than ever because of the bigotry the LGBTQ+ and Latino communities are facing. Martinez pointed not only to increased immigration enforcement, but also federal policies that discriminate against the transgender community.
“As we get closer to the elections, it’s important that we stay connected and involved and visible because they’re trying to push us away, so these events speak volumes,” Martinez said. “We’re here and we’re not going away.”
In addition to more than 60 vendors, Pride also featured a number of performances, including drag showcases, the Grupo Huitzilopochtli Dance Troupe and live DJ sets. Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmember Alison Coombs also spoke at the event and presented an official proclamation to celebrate Pride.
For Carla Ferreira, CEO of the Aurora Highlands community and a chief sponsor of this year’s venue and event, the new location was more than just offering up more space.
The Aurora Highlands itself reflects the spirit of Aurora Pride, she said, because the neighborhood, like so much of Aurora, is built around inclusiveness and diversity. Rather than simply providing a backdrop for the festival, the community helps reinforce the Pride event’s emphasis on bringing different people and cultures together as a celebration of respect and inclusion.
Ferreira says all this made Winged Melody Park a fitting setting for a celebration whose central message is that everyone belongs.
At the peak of the day, around 200 people were at the event, though no total count was taken since it was unticketed, Gretchen Bartek, an event organizer, said.
“Overall, it was wonderful to see the community come together to celebrate Pride at The Aurora Highlands,” Bartek said. “We had local vendors, food trucks, entertainment and community organizations all participating, and we’re grateful to everyone who came out and helped bring the event to life.”
What about pride in America. All that LGBTQ+- group of folks are less than 1% of our total population, yet they get left wing media coverage for such a small fringe group.
re: Edward Troup’s comment – They really don’t the only reason you act like they do is because you are so obsessed in conservative grievance politics that you think LGBTQ+ people taking up space is an assault on you. Also, current statistics put the population at closer to 6-7% – I will start taking conservatives seriously when they stop acting like Queer people are some radical fringe political group. LGBTQ+ folk are part of the tapestry of citizens that make up America, get used to it Edward
Yo, we have 4th of July, Veteran’s Day, Flag Day, etc. There are plenty of days to “take pride in America”
You being obsessed with LGBTQ+ folk is your own business my dude. Can’t stop thinking about dudes kissing? Sounds like a you problem man idk
I was curious to see how many folks would attend this event. So let’s say 200 at the high count at one time so lets double that for coming and going for 400 attendee’s.
So 60 vendors, and who knows if they were in the count. That’s much less than ten per vendor. That’s awfully low for a business person.
Like the Sentinel Blog, let’s just call it a success and move on. All this movement has done for the past few years for anyone that’s not a “gay” person is to allow rainbows to not be a beautiful item in the sky but to be a group of different people.
Not to mention the redefining of the dictionary words pride and gay.
A man named “Dick Moore” being hateful to gay people is hilarious to me
Were you bullied a lot as a kid because you have the name of a gay porn star? Be so fr dude, youre passed that LGBTQ+ who fought for their recognition and equality take some pride in the civil rights movement that won them the right to marry and not be blatantly discriminated against in the workplace? Crawl back to your old folks home and whine about it more
I tried to participate buthey said I had nothin’ to be proud of.