Montclair Pride

Montclair Pride is a young, one-day street festival in Essex County, New Jersey. It is run by Out Montclair, a nonprofit founded in 2021. The first festival was in June 2022, and organisers say it has grown quickly, reporting more than 25,000 people in 2024 and more than 30,000 in 2025. Those are the organisers' own counts.

The festival is free. In 2026 it opened with a new Equality in Motion March at 10:30, from the Montclair Public Library along Bloomfield Avenue. The festival then ran from noon to 5pm at Lackawanna Plaza, with a main stage, a family zone, food trucks, beer gardens and more than 150 vendors.

2026 was a difficult year. Out Montclair cited rising production costs, a drop in corporate sponsorship and police detail fees, and moved the festival twice: from 13 June to 1 August, then to Sunday 11 October, National Coming Out Day. It went ahead in the rain. Actress Dominique Jackson, Cathy Renna and drag performer Harmonica Sunbeam appeared on stage, according to Montclair Local. We couldn't find a headcount for 2026. Whether 2027 returns to June hadn't been announced when we checked.