Published July 13, 2025 | Updated July 18, 2026

Like most cities, Omaha’s Pride Parade is rooted in a brutal police raid that took place at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, in 1969. That marked a turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement. In the immediate aftermath, there were spontaneous riots and demonstrations over the course of several days. Just one year later, the first Pride Parades took place in large cities including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. Other cities, including Omaha, followed suit.

In Omaha, the movement started in the 1970s and was led by bars and other organizations, including ICON (Imperial Court of Nebraska) and ANGLE (Achieving New Gay/Lesbian Endeavors). It evolved into a candlelight march that included approximately 60 people in 1985. Some wearing bags over their heads for fear of retribution. The march served as a way to not only remember those who had passed or were dying due to AIDS but also to celebrate the freedoms that had been won and to recognize those that remained elusive. The first official Pride Parade and Festival made its Omaha debut at Turner Park in 1988. By 1993, Pride Week had grown to Pride Month per a proclamation by Mayor P.J. Morgan.

The event continued to grow and in 2010 it was led by Heartland Pride, a non-profit tasked with organizing community events and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. Today, the mission of the parade is to “celebrate and promote the history, diversity, and future prosperity of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community in the Omaha/Council Bluffs Metro Areas.”

Celebrated in July rather than June in Omaha due to the College World Series, the parade has continued to grow in both size and recognition with a projected attendance of more than 40,000. While that progress hasn’t been easy, the numbers reflect the hard work it took to get there and how far the community has come over the last 40 years.

The 2026 parade is on Saturday, July 18th. It starts at 16th and Capitol Avenue at 9:30 am. From there, it heads east to 12th Street and north to Charles Schwab Field. Click here to learn more: https://heartlandpride.org

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More pictures

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://heartlandpride.org/history/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots
• https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/06/organizer-of-omahas-first-pride-march-in-1985-explains-how-much-things-have-changed/