Pride history in leander

Leander was home to one of the first-ever Pride events in Williamson County, which took place in 2019. The event became part of a crisis of identity for the city, after a planned Drag Queen Story Hour at the Leander Library was canceled, then rescheduled as Leander Family Pride by a local church. It garnered protests by registered hate groups and former Cedar Park City Council Members and made national news, only to be followed by the cancellation of an LGBTQ author’s scheduled visit a few weeks later. To prevent future protests, Leander’s Mayor and City Council members at the time chose to cancel all library room rentals for everyone, and Leander’s librarian was fired.

This series of events angered and brought together residents committed to breaking down walls and making our community more inclusive, driving the formation of multiple groups, including Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity for All Leander and later, Leander Pride.

These community members volunteered time and energy to form a non-profit charity committed to making Leander more welcoming for everyone. Our first official event was in May 2022 was A Rainbow to Remember. In 2023, we partnered with Cedar Park Pride to host the Queer EmPower Pride Conference and Festival, in 2024, we hosted a Pride Party, and in 2025, we brought the community together with Cedar Park Pride again for our Community Carnival.

We continue to host and participate in numerous events throughout our area and we’re working on more to come! Visit our blog for information on upcoming events and follow Leander Pride on Facebook to stay tuned for more info!