click to enlarge Hazel Park raises its Pride flag to celebrate LGBTQ rights in June. - Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling

Hazel Park raises its Pride flag to celebrate LGBTQ rights in June.

Royal Oak and Hazel Park are each hosting a Pride festival this weekend.

Royal Oak PRIDE will take place between 5-10 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday on Washington Avenue between 5th, 6th, and 7th streets.

The event will feature live music, drag entertainers, DJs, food trucks, and vendors.

The festival headliner is R&B vocal powerhouse Deborah Cox.

Miz Cracker, a New York drag queen, writer, and comedian will host the Detroit Drag Showcase on Friday.

It will be the first time the festival was in Royal Oak in 20 years.

“Royal Oak has always been at the forefront of diversification and entertainment”, Gary Baglio, owner of Pronto and FIVE15, said in a statement. “After 20 years we are bringing PRIDE back to Royal Oak with the help of entertainers of FIVE15 we will magnify the performance qualities to a level never before seen in Michigan. The younger generation has always gone to larger cities for Pride festivals. My goal has been to showcase what a town like Royal Oak can bring, in an effort to grow this diversification and add our city as a destination for all to celebrate.”

On Sunday from noon-8 p.m., Hazel Park is hosting its second annual Pride Festival at Green Acres Park at 620 W. Woodward Heights Blvd.

The event is billed as “an unforgettable summer event for the whole family.”

More than 50 entertainers and 100 vendors will be on hand.

The festival will feature carnival-style games and prizes, DJs, drag queen story time, and drag face painting.

“We are thrilled, once again, to gather and celebrate the importance of the LGBTQ+ community and its contributions to our city,” Hazel Park City manager Ed Klocucher said in a statement. “The event promises to be fun for the entire family. Come and join us!”

Both festivals are free and open to the public.

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