06/17/2026
🌟✍️WORDS THAT HEAL. VOICES THAT RESIST.🔊✨
The PRIDEFEST 2026 main stage is a space for every form of beautiful, unfiltered self-expression. This year, we are incredibly honored to introduce a deeply impactful, soul-stirring feature: the PRIDE POETS CLUB, bringing together two phenomenal wordsmiths and storytellers to elevate our community's voices.
Get ready to feel the power of the spoken word with these two brilliant creators...
🌟 FEATURED POET: SOLITA 🌟
Solita is a mover, shaker, and storyteller conjuring chaos and community in all the places they go. Solita's incredible artistry has been experienced internationally, whether it be commanding stages, in theatres, during powerful community protests, on Zoom calls, swinging around a pole, and more. Grounded in deep purpose, Solita is forever grateful for the rich legacies of q***r + trans Black folx that continuously inspire and drive their creative passions.
🌟 FEATURED POET: SHAYNA “AKANKE” MARIE 🌟
Shayna “Akanke” Marie** is a poet, writer, facilitator, and community organizer from right here in Grand Rapids whose work deeply explores storytelling, healing, identity, grief, and resistance. Through the power of spoken word and intentional community engagement, she beautifully creates spaces for honest dialogue, reflection, and collective imagination. Shayna uses poetry as both a profound art form and a tool for advocacy—encouraging audiences to confront difficult truths while envisioning more just and compassionate futures. Her performances blend vulnerability, urgency, and lyrical depth, inviting listeners into a world where pain and pleasure coexist, and where storytelling becomes a direct pathway toward connection and liberation.
Prepare to be moved, inspired, and completely transformed by the incredible energy these two are bringing to the stage. Let’s make 2026 a GLOW UP to remember!
📢 Don’t Forget! We are still actively seeking Volunteers for PRIDEFEST 2026! Sign up now!