Naper Pride Fest not happening this year, organizers say
Naper Pride Fest — traditionally held in September — is not happening this year, organizers confirmed in a Facebook post this week.
“Naper Pride made the decision not to host a 2026 Pride Fest early last October in order to reallocate our funding to other initiatives that we felt were more long-term beneficial to our community,” the organization wrote.
No other information was provided as to what was funded instead or why the decision was not announced publicly before now. However, the nonprofit did say in their post that they expect the event to return in the future.
“We know that there is some disappointment in this decision,” the post said. “There is a little sadness in us too. It can be hard to let go of things. What we are building instead will have positive impact for generations to come.”
When questioned about the cancellation, Margie Wolf, president of Naper Pride, said via text that the organization “just decided not to have it. Nothing bad happened, there’s no controversy, nothing.”
Wolf declined to share any other details, but did express frustration with the anti-LGBTQ+ comments posted in response to a Naperville Patch social media post on the festival not taking place this year.
“The comments are the same whether we have a festival or not,” Wolf said.
Pride Fest made its debut in 2021 at Naper Settlement in Naperville, where it was held again in 2022. The event took a hiatus in 2023 before returning in 2024 and 2025.
Naper Pride typically hosts the festival in September and not June — Pride Month — because so many other events are being held at that time, the organization has said previously.
Last year, Naper Pride came under attack by Naperville City Councilman Josh McBroom after the group reposted on their Facebook page a comment made by the Rev. Howard John-Wesley, pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, following the murder of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist.
The quote read: “There is nowhere in the Bible where we are taught to honor evil and how you die does not redeem how you lived. You don’t become a hero in death when you are a weapon of the enemy in life.”
In response, McBroom questioned in his own Facebook post whether groups like Naper Pride, which he said take political advocacy positions, should receive city funding through Naperville’s Special Events & Community Arts (SECA) Commission.
Naper Pride followed up with a posted statement in which they said they “do not advocate for violence against anyone” and that everyone “has the right to free speech, but nobody has the right to force anyone else to listen.”
McBroom said he would not support future SECA funding for the nonprofit unless Naper Pride apologized for their posts, which they did not. The organization had submitted an application for 2026 SECA funding for Pride Fest, but ultimately withdrew their request before allocations were made. No reason was provided for the withdrawal, city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said.
Pride Fest is not the only major Naperville event to not take place this year. Indian Community Outreach pulled the plug on Naperville’s 2026 India Day Parade and Celebration due to a lack of funding from the city and the longtime Holiday Parade of Lights was canceled this year due to logistics and funding issues.
cstein@chicagotribune.com