Love Fest is BACK and ready to light up winter in the best possible way!
On February 13, 2026, City Center becomes the hottest Valentine’s destination in Champaign-Urbana—with bold performances, great food, strong community, and a room full of people who know how to celebrate love out loud.
This year’s Love Fest brings jaw-dropping burlesque from the iconic Carnivale Debauche, beats that keep the energy high all night from DJ Silkee, and a crowd that understands Valentine’s Day should be joyful, inclusive, and unapologetically queer. Whether you’re coming with a date, your polycule, your besties, or flying solo, you’ll fit right in.
Tickets start at just $30 and get you:
A dinner of heavy appetizers (come hungry)
A cash bar to keep things flowing
Incredible live entertainment
Fabulous raffles you actually want to win
And a night you’ll be talking about long after the glitter settles
Love Fest exists because too many Valentine’s spaces still aren’t built with LGBTQ+ lives, relationships, and families in mind. We built our own—and every year, it gets bigger, bolder, and year 5 is coming in as the hottest one yet!
When you buy a ticket, you’re not just buying a night out. You’re supporting Uniting Pride’s year-round work at a moment when attacks on the LGBTQ+ community have ramped up exponentially. This celebration helps fund the programs, advocacy, and community spaces that make real impact all year long.
We also want to be honest with you about why your support right now is especially meaningful.
In November 2025, just after Pride Fest—our largest and most important program of the year—our former donor platform, Flipcause, was suddenly shut down by the California Attorney General and later filed for bankruptcy. As a result, vital funds from Pride Fest, along with millions of dollars from nonprofits around the world, were frozen and withheld without warning.
We acted fast and moved to a new, trusted platform, Pledge It, but the impact of that disruption is something we’re still navigating. Love Fest 2026 plays a critical role in helping us keep momentum, protect our programming, and move forward without interruption.
And still—Love Fest is about joy.
It’s about choosing celebration even when the world feels heavy. It’s about dancing, laughing, and reminding ourselves that our love is powerful, resilient, and absolutely worth celebrating.
Tickets are limited, the energy will be electric, and this is not a night to scroll past and forget.
This event is 19+.
Grab your tickets, check out sponsorship opportunities, and get all the details at
www.unitingpride.org/lovefest26
Also check out other Festivals in Champaign.
