OUTShine is Grand Rapids’ annual National Coming Out Day celebration — a night where LGBTQ+ community members gather to breathe, laugh, dance, tell stories, and be fully, unapologetically themselves.

This year’s theme, Free To Be, is both a celebration and a call to action. At a time when LGBTQ+ people are navigating escalating political attacks and harmful rhetoric, OUTShine 2026: Free To Be offers something essential: a joyful, affirming space to recharge, reconnect, and remember who we are.

And this year, we’re dreaming bigger — we want to make OUTShine 2026: Free To Be free for the LGBTQ+ community. We are actively seeking sponsors to help make this possible. Please follow our social media pages and this page for updates!

OUTShine 2026: Free To Be is more than an event. It’s a lifeline. It’s a celebration. It’s a promise.

Here are a few examples of the impact the Grand Rapids LGBTQ+ Healthcare Consortium is making:

This year we launched the Gender Expression Workshop focused on non-medical related ways gender diverse individuals can present socially in their authentic self.
We launched an Adolescent Health Sexual Toolkit in January 2026 and a Gender Euphoria Toolkit in May 2026. We are working on one for Adults as well as an Intersex Toolkit!
In partnership with the Grand Rapids Black Nurses Association and the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute, with financial support from MDHHS's MiCORE program we created Good Vibes - focused on education and prevention of HIV.
Learn more about our projects by clicking here!

OUTShine 2026: Free To Be! Tickets and Auction

Join us as we celebrate turning up the volume of authenticity for National Coming Out Day 2026!