Franklin Pride Festival to Return in June

The Franklin Pride Festival is set to return to Harlinsdale Farm in June amid new sponsorship and fundraising challenges.

The festival was unanimously approved as part of the consent agenda during the Feb. 11 Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, and was also brought up at its Jan. 28 BOMA work session, with essentially no debate.

This is in stark contrast to years past when the festival drew concerned comments from both members of the public and elected officials and was narrowly approved in a contentious 2023 meeting.

The free festival will kick off at noon with live music, food trucks, a beer tent, arts and crafts vendors, a youth activity area and more for an anticipated 10,000 attendees. As has occurred in past years, Franklin Pride will rent out the entirety of the park.

On Jan. 23, Franklin Pride launched a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $20,000 to offset what it said was the loss of revenue after two corporate sponsors pulled their sponsorship of the event.

“As we feared, following a federal announcement of the immediate end of the White Houses’ DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] initiatives, Franklin Pride’s two of our biggest sponsors have pulled their support of our June 7th event due to corporate mandates,” Franklin Pride said in a statement. “We are a grassroots effort in every sense of the word and one of the largest safe space for LGBTQIA+ youth, families, and adults in Middle Tennessee.”

Franklin Pride President Clayton Klutts declined to address the specific sponsors who ended their sponsorship, but past sponsors have included Brentwood-based Tractor Supply, who announced last year that they would “stop sponsoring nonbusiness activities” such as pride festivals or voting campaigns.

Tractor Supply was one of several companies targeted by Franklin resident and right-wing activist Robby Starbuck for their DEI programs.

Franklin Pride’s statement continued: “We are proud to provide Middle Tennessee, and more specifically, Franklin,Tennessee, with needed safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces for the Queer community and we are determined to be even bigger, stronger, and more united in 2025.”

DEI has been in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s administration in the weeks since he returned to the White House, impacting everything from the arts to education and the military.

Klutts didn’t disclose how much money the group has raised since the fundraising call, but said they are making “good progress.”

“The community response has been overwhelmingly positive because they want us to continue to hold the festival,” Klutts said.