The afternoon of Sunday, November 15, will mark a historic first for the town of Matthews, North Carolina with its first-ever official Pride celebration. Presented by Beer Money Entertainment and BME Concerts for a Cause, the family-friendly event will take place in Stumptown Park on November 15 from 1-6 p.m., rain or shine. Admission is free for everyone (including pets), and all proceeds from vendors, sponsors and raffles will go to support the local nonprofit charity organization, Twirl to the World. Pride in the Park will feature about 50 local vendors and a variety of food trucks; additionally, raffles will be held throughout the day with prizes donated by local businesses.
Among the organizations present will be North Carolina’s oldest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, Equality NC, alongside its community initiative program Juntxs, a bilingual group created to unite and support LGBTQ+ Latinx individuals and allies.
But what’s a Pride celebration without the entertainment? Hosted by The Vanity House, Pride in the Park will also feature a sizable lineup of talented queens including Phina 5000, Leonasia Chanel, Vanna Vanity and Vicki Vanity. Featured musical artists will also be in attendance and playing live throughout the event, including Missy Lou, a Southern-born country, blues and rock artist; David Gibson, a multi-instrumentalist from Charlotte; the Flame Tides, a blues-driven hard rock power duo; and the Obsidian Femmes, an all-female jam band formed in Charlotte’s favorite dive bars and breweries.
News of the event has been met with minor negative response from some in the Matthews community. Among those dissenting voices is former town commissioner Leon Threatt, who said in an article carried by The Charlotte Weekly: “They sell this thing as ‘Pride in the Park,’ but I’m challenged by the notion of pride because what is it to be proud about when biological men prance around in girls’ dresses in a park?” Threatt claimed the event to be a group of outsiders coming into the town to push their agenda on what he described as a “traditional community.
Despite that reaction, others in the community are speaking out agaist the intolerance.
Pastor of Watershed Church David Roberts said in the same story: “I’ve been a proud resident of the town of Matthews for 10 years, and this is probably the first time … that I felt ashamed of this town. The hatred, the fear that I’ve heard spewed this evening towards a vulnerable population, not just in this community but in our country, could not be more disappointing to me as a follower of Jesus Christ.”
For information on Matthews Pride 2026, go here.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
