Don't Miss: Las Vegas Pride, October 20-22

Not ready for your Pride year to be over just yet? Extend your rainbow revelry in always-exciting Las Vegas. This year's festivities kick off on Friday, October 20 with the Las Vegas PRIDE Night Parade, and continue the entire weekend of October 21-22 with the Las Vegas PRIDE Festival.

2017 marks the 34th anniversary of the first Las Vegas PRIDE, launched back in 1983. This year also features the 19th edition of the Southern Nevada Association of PRIDE's Night Parade, presented by MGM Resorts International, which as in previous years will proceed up South 4th Street (just a block west of "The Strip") from Charleston Boulevard to Ogden Avenue.

To ensure yourself a prime viewing spot, arrive early and enjoy the pre-parade show, which starts at 6:30 p.m. on the Main Stage at 4th Street and Bridger Avenue. The parade will start immediately afterward at 7:30 p.m., and will feature participants from Las Vegas' gay and straight business community, nonprofit organizations, LGBTQ service agencies, civic groups and churches. Numerous awards will be given out for the best walkers, vehicles and floats, as picked by a panel of Vegas-area celebrity judges. Post-parade, the official after party keeps the fun going well into the night.

Pride weekend then kicks into festival mode for the Las Vegas PRIDE Festival on Saturday and Sunday. The fest takes place again this year in Sunset Park (just 15 minutes from The Strip), where it returned last year following a several-year hiatus. Two outdoor stages will feature a diverse lineup of entertainment, with both nationally known headliners and local favorites, including many performers from The Strip.

More than a hundred exhibitors will be on site, which will feature a food court and convenient drink stations manned by bartenders from the city's top LGBT venues. A Family Activity Zone will be filled with fun activities for children 12 and under and their parents, and a specially designated area of the festival will be known as Las Vegas Pride Pets, with pet-friendly exhibitors and play areas. The Las Vegas Pride Festival will be open from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 21, and from 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 22.

Vegas Bites

While you're in town for Pride, be sure to sample some the fantastic new restaurant offerings in Las Vegas, a city that's become revered as one of the country's top foodie destinations.

For Pride-goers on the run, famed Michelin-starred chef Guy Savoy (whose eponymous restaurant has graced Caesars Palace for more than a decade) recently opened a second Caesars location, the carryout-minded Brioche by Guy Savoy, offering delectable tastes of sweet and savory brioches, delicious sandwiches, and freshly brewed Coperaco coffee.

Zuma, the latest of the ultra-hot global Zuma brand from chef and co-founder Rainer Becker, opened earlier this year at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Zuma features a hip Japanese izakaya-inspired menu that highlights sushi and robata-grilled delights.

Spend the Night (Or a Few)

Las Vegas is filled with excellent hotel options, including many that regularly support Las Vegas PRIDE and eagerly welcome LGBT guests.

One of the city's most recognizable landmarks (which is of course saying a lot in Vegas), the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel & Casino is packed with terrific dining, entertainment, and gay-friendly partying options - including the May-to-September Temptation Sundays pool party, voted Best Gay Event by Q Vegas.

The all-suite Alexis Park Resort has a three-decade track record of being LGBT-friendly, making it one of the longest-running welcoming hotels in Las Vegas. It's also one of the most convenient properties to the "Fruit Loop" (as it's affectionately known to locals), the city's biggest concentration of LGBTQ bars, dance clubs and retailers.

Opened in 2014, SLS Las Vegas is one of the Strip's newest resorts, offering over 1,300 guest rooms and suites in its two distinctive towers (the contemporary World Tower and the boutique-like Story Tower), as well as a host of acclaimed restaurants and entertainment options.

Celebrating its 60th birthday in 2017, the iconic Tropicana Las Vegas now dazzles after $90 million in updates in the last two years, on top of a gorgeous $200 million transformation in 2011. The Tropicana prides itself on offering one of the Strip's warmest welcomes to its LGBT guests.

The newly opened W Las Vegas offers the ultimate in on-demand services with its WHENEVER/WHEREVER concierge button, which can help you gain access to everything from your favorite entertainment to late-night bites.