Electric Forest is the secret Pride festival you have to see to believe

You haven't truly celebrated Pride Month until you attend Electric Forest!

The signature EDM festival takes place yearly up in Rothbury, Michigan and music lovers from all walks of life come together to party, dance, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

People who are familiar with rave culture are well aware of just how inclusive major EDM festivals can be, especially for the LGBTQ+ community.

However, one festival that should be on every gay raver's bucket list is Electric Forest. It's no coincidence that this thrilling event takes place in the middle of Pride Month.

Gays are waving their rainbow flags (myself included) all weekend as people in the community are literally getting married in the woods, dancing at Pride parties, attending drag brunches, and expanding their chosen family by meeting other ravers from around the world.

In fact, Electric Forest made it their mission to become the first musical festival in the United States to offer Pride programming to put the spotlight on the LGBTQ+ community.

Back in 2018, Electric Forest made history by throwing the first Pride parade at a major music festival, which set the pace for many other events to include LGBTQ+ activations across America. Fun fact: a fan suggested the idea to the festival's board through their Plug In Program.

Stephen Emmerich serves as the Plug In Program Director for Electric Forest and oversees all of the Pride events throughout the weekend.

"Everybody freaked out. It was amazing. I grew up in the Midwest. I'm 48. How important is it to see something like that if you're not out of the closet? You come here and there's other people like you. If I had seen a Pride event in 1995, it would have made feel a lot better. It's a really gay festival and it doesn't even try to be," Emmerich says.

By introducing the Pride parade back in 2018, the staple event has grown in size as Electric Forest continues to gain popularity over the years.

What started as a small group of people has now grown into a large effort that draws thousands of queer people to every gay activation offered at the festival.

"We really threw the first ever Pride event, which is mind-blowing that it took until 2018," Emmerich shares. "Now, other festivals have followed suit. There's so many more queer artists touring, especially queer artists who are out. The whole world has changed."

Electric Forest just celebrated 12 years, but in so many ways, they're just getting started.

Similar to the LGBTQ+ visibility growing around the world, more music lovers are realizing that camping and raving in the woods for a long weekend is something that must be experienced at least once.

"It does make me feel really good to give people strength to go on another year. To come back and feel that freedom again, that's all that matters. It's so cool to see someone change over the years. It's been a really cool thing that I never ever imagined to happen."

Get all of the info and full recaps on Electric Forest by visiting their website here. Keep your eyes peeled on next year's festival, as you won't want to miss your opportunity to pack up your tent with your festie besties and have the best weekend of your life.

Happy Pride!