Pride: Durham, NC

Pride: Durham, NC is a fall Pride with deep roots. In 1981 about 300 people marched through downtown Durham after a homophobic attack at Little River. That march is described locally as North Carolina's first public gay rights demonstration. In 1986 a march on Duke's campus became the statewide NC Pride March. In 2000 organisers decided to keep it in Durham every year and move it to the fall. NC Pride later dissolved, and the LGBTQ Center of Durham has organised it since 2018.

Today it runs as a week of free events that ends with the Pride Community Protest and Parade on Duke East Campus. Groups line up on the campus and the march goes out from there.

The 2026 week ran from 27 September to 3 October under the theme "Always Forward, Never Straight: Preserving History, Coming Home". It opened with a vendor and food-truck rodeo at Durham Central Park and also included a Pride bike ride, a multi-faith service and a queer history tour, before the Saturday parade. The 2027 dates hadn't been announced when we checked.