Pop-up exhibition in the festival’s Youth & Family Zone, and ‘Charlotte: Moving Forward, Looking Back’ offer insight into the city’s LGBTQ beginnings

CHARLOTTE, NC — Make sure your 2024 Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade plans Aug. 17-18 include some time for Levine Museum of the New South, which will have two exhibitions available during the festivities.

There will be a pop-up exhibition displayed on 6-foot banners in the festival’s Youth & Family Zone, where people can learn about the history of national and local Pride and how Charlotte Pride has evolved over the years.

And the museum’s current exhibition at 401 S. Tryon St. – just steps from the festival site, with air conditioning and free admission – includes artifacts and insight into Charlotte’s LGBTQ beginnings.

“Charlotte: Moving Forward, Looking Back” explores the city’s history from its earliest days, and visitors can expect to learn how LGBTQ activism and visibility are shaping a New South.

“During our research for this exhibition, our team at Levine Museum was deeply moved by the resilience and contributions of those who have shaped Charlotte,” says Franky Abbott, Levine Museum Chief Content Strategist.

“Charlotte: Moving Forward, Looking Back” includes a history of activism in Charlotte, artifacts like Sinister Wisdom (a pioneering lesbian periodical founded in Charlotte in 1976) and stories of local activists like Janice Allison Covington, Don King, and co-founder of Charlotte Black Pride, Jermaine Nakia Lee. 

To ensure diverse voices were reflected in the exhibition, the museum conducted a survey — Charlotte by Charlotte — in Spring 2023, and worked with a panel that represented Charlotteans from diverse communities.

Levine Museum Board member Ty Niess says the exhibition “promises to leave a mark on Charlotte’s cultural landscape that will continue to flourish, as the exhibition will grow when the museum moves into a new permanent home.”

Reflecting Levine Museum’s commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, the exhibition also features robust digital interactives. 

Pride weekend will include more than 40 hours of non-stop entertainment on five stages, including a VIP Experience, Youth & Family Zone, drag pageant, health fair, and food court. It concludes Sunday, Aug. 18 with Charlotte’s largest parade.

The museum at 401 S. Tryon St., centrally located in the festival zone and parade route, is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and 12-5 p.m. Sunday.