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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndy Pride Inc. on Friday announced that its 2017 Circle City IN Pride Fest will be moving to Military Park at White River State Park after seven years of growth at the American Legion Mall.
In addition, the organization, which has operated on an all-volunteer basis since its founding in 1995, said it will launch a national search next year for its first-ever executive director.
Indy Pride serves members of central Indiana’s lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer community. It is the organizer of the annual Pride Fest, a multi-day event that includes a festival and parade. According to Indy Pride, this year’s June 4-11 event drew an estimated 150,000 people:100,000 at the festival and more than 50,000 to the parade on Massachusetts Avenue.
The event drew 55,000 people in 2010, its first year at the American Legion Mall. Military Park will provide more room for the festival, greater security and better parking options, the group said.
The not-for-profit organization said it is seeking an executive director—to be the group’s first paid employee—“to meet growing needs of the organization and facilitate the next step in its evolution.”
Indy Pride plans to begin its executive director search on Feb. 1 with the goal of a May 1 start date for the new hire. The new director will be responsible for the organization’s overall operations, sponsorship and donor activities, vendor relations, volunteer and community relations, festival execution and other management activities.
To prepare the organization for the transition, Board President Jason H. Nolen-Doerr will move into the non-board role of interim executive director. He plans to stay in the role until late June so that he can help the new executive director settle into the job.
Indy Pride is also the parent of several other organizations including the Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival and others.
The organization said it is also discussing the possibility of instituting a cover charge for the Pride Fest and changing the time and date of the Massachusetts Avenue parade. The board has not yet voted on either of these two proposals.
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