Riverside Pride, the Hill Country LGBTQ+ festival that has pulled crowds to New Braunfels in recent years, is packing up its rainbow flags and heading east. Organizers announced this week that the 2026 event is booked for the Seguin Coliseum, with the party set for Saturday, October 31, 2026. The move is framed as a direct response to last year’s venue fight, and it has already kicked off a fresh round of political pressure as opponents urge Seguin officials to block the celebration.
In a late-night Facebook post, organizers said they had signed a contract with the Seguin Coliseum and added, “We couldn't be happier to bring our community together in such a friendly environment,” according to MySA. That simple announcement was enough to reignite an online crossfire between critics and supporters.
How last year's booking fight moved the festival
The festival’s geographic shuffle started in 2025, when Riverside Pride was pushed out of the Comal County Fairgrounds after weeks of pressure, including a complaint from Republican state Rep. Carrie Isaac. Her objection prompted the fair board to pull the booking, as reported by Texas Public Radio. Organizers suddenly found themselves scrambling for backup locations and talking more openly about keeping programming family-friendly while also wrestling with rising security concerns and costs.
Local pushback
The Seguin announcement triggered immediate blowback online. On May 13, Texas Republican Terry Harper urged residents in a Facebook post to contact local officials and oppose the event, according to MySA. Other commenters drilled into how city-owned venues get booked for outside events, putting Seguin leaders under a brighter spotlight than they probably expected for a 2026 calendar hold.
Seguin Coliseum as the new home
The Seguin Coliseum is a city-run facility with theater-style seating for about 1,200 and a range of rental options for community gatherings, according to the City of Seguin. It is a far more contained space than the sprawling Comal County Fairgrounds, which could help Riverside Pride keep a tighter handle on staffing, security, and insurance for what organizers consistently describe as a family-focused event.
Organizers cite safety and family-friendly focus
After the 2025 cancellation, Riverside Pride told supporters it would keep searching for venues in the region and insisted it was staying put in the Hill Country, saying “we are not going anywhere,” as covered by My Canyon Lake. The group’s website pitches its mission as connecting and supporting LGBTQ+ residents in New Braunfels and surrounding towns. Critics, however, argue that trucking the festival down the road simply relocates the controversy rather than resolving the underlying fight over what kind of events belong at public venues.
Legal context
State-level culture clashes have made every venue contract feel like a legal exam. Texas Public Radio reported that Rep. Isaac warned of “significant legal liability” under SB 12, a statute aimed at limiting sexually explicit performances that has faced court challenges. That backdrop has turned what used to be routine bookings in Texas into politically charged, sometimes unpredictable decisions.
What happens next in Seguin will hinge on whether city officials respond to public complaints, whether the Coliseum contract holds, and whether Riverside Pride can lock in insurance and security that satisfy local stakeholders. For now, organizers say they are planning toward an October 2026 celebration, and the brewing fight offers another test of how Texas Hill Country towns balance community events with mounting political pressure.
