A Global Movement,
A Local Beginning
Autistic Pride Day began as an international movement 20 years ago, created by autistic people to celebrate identity, culture, and community. Each June, autistic people around the world gather to affirm that we are not hidden, but honored.
In 2026, Autistic Pride Chattanooga will host Chattanooga’s first autistic‑led Autistic Pride Day — and, as far as we know, the first Autistic Pride Day celebration in the entire Southeast. This event marks a milestone for our city and our region, joining the global celebration with a distinctly local, autistic‑led voice.
Planning to Join the Adventure?
Autistic Pride Day is completely free to attend, and registration will also be available at the door on the day of the event. For those who would like to support the celebration ahead of time, preregistration is available for $5 and helps our team prepare the space, activities, and resources needed for everyone coming together. As a thank you, guests who preregister will receive a limited-edition event lanyard at check-in.
Why Autistic Pride Day Matters
Autistic Pride Day is not an awareness event. It is a cultural event — a day built by autistic people, for autistic people — where we can exist safely, joyfully, and unmasked.
Simply stating pride in our neurodiversity is revolutionary. That is why Autistic Pride Chattanooga began around the simple idea to bring Autistic Pride Day to our region of the world. In a landscape where autistic people are often spoken for, pathologized, or pushed to the margins, claiming pride is an act of resistance and an act of community‑building. It shifts the narrative from deficit to culture, from intervention to identity, from being managed to being understood on our own terms.
Autistic Pride Day matters because it creates space for autistic identity to be recognized as something worth celebrating — not something to fix. It challenges stigma by making autistic presence visible, collective, and unapologetic. It restores agency by centering autistic leadership and lived experience. And it strengthens belonging by giving our community a place to gather without masking, without explanation, and without compromise.
This day signals that autistic people in Chattanooga — and across the Southeast — deserve spaces shaped by our needs, our leadership, and our ways of moving through the world. It is a declaration that autistic culture exists, that it is vibrant, and that it belongs here.
Explore the Day
Arriving at the downtown library, you may notice something different before you even reach the doors.
Community tents line the entrance, offering side quests of games and interactive activities. There’s face painting and balloon creations from Creatives on the Go Party Co. A DIY custom bracelet station hosted by The Craft Cottage. And everywhere — bubbles. Endless bubbles from Bubble Mania, brought to us by Northern Lights Behavioral Consulting.
Before you step inside, a fellow adventurer greets you at the door. They’ll guide you to registration and collect any non-perishable goods you’ve brought to support the Chatt Pride Food Coalition. In return, you receive your first token of the day: a button marking the completion of your first side quest.
At registration, you’ll receive your lanyard — a limited-edition preregistration perk that helped support this event, or a free day-of lanyard, because this celebration does not require payment for any activity. The lanyard becomes your adventure log, holding the buttons you collect as you complete quests throughout the building.
Then the journey begins.
On the first floor, the auditorium hosts our opening and closing ceremonies, thoughtful and humorous panels, and a Stimming Contest — because here, you’re not just allowed to be “weird.” You can win for it.
Throughout the first floor, you’ll find tables filled with tabletop adventures. Yes, Magic: The Gathering. Yes, Dungeons & Dragons. And maybe even your favorite hero or villain — courtesy of Chattoonie’s cosplay presence. You’re invited to bring your own character into the story, too.
On the second floor, younger adventurers can gather for story time featuring children who found pride in being themselves. For “the youth,” REconnect Nature School offers activities designed for their energy and curiosity.
By the time you reach the third floor, you may feel the need to reset — and that’s intentional.
Here, the energy softens. You can sit for Tea with Iroh and take a moment to breathe. This floor is dedicated to quiet restoration and reflection. It’s also home to our silent auction, featuring goods sourced throughout Chattanooga and artwork created by autistic artists. You can wander slowly. Rest fully. Recalibrate before continuing your adventure.
When you’re ready, ascend to the fourth floor.
There, you’ll find a curated vendor market alongside a stage for Open Mic Infodumping. This is your chance to tell Chattanooga what you specialize in — to share your niche passion, your research obsession, your special skill. The mic is yours.
If you missed collecting any side quest buttons along the way, you can forge your own at the button maker before you leave.
Because this isn’t just an event.
It’s an adventure — one designed by us for us so you can move at your own pace, choose your own path, and exist without "masking," apology, or compromise.
Explore by Level
Need to know more details? We get it. Some of us like to know the map before starting the quest. Below you’ll find each floor of the adventure explained in a little more detail.
1st Floor
Auditorium & Tabletop Gaming
The first floor is home to the main auditorium, where you’ll find the opening and closing ceremonies, panel discussions, and the Stimming Contest. Throughout the floor you’ll also find a wide variety of tabletop games hosted by Community Partners, including Magic: The Gathering, Puzzles, Legos, and other tabletop activities. Cosplay appearances from Chattoonie and fellow attendees may also be found throughout the space.
2nd Floor
Youth & Family Actives
The second floor features activities designed with younger adventurers and families in mind. Guests can enjoy story time featuring books that celebrate children discovering pride in who they are. Community partner REconnect Nature Schoolwill also host hands-on activities designed to engage curious minds and active learners. This floor offers a welcoming space for youth to explore, create, and connect in ways that support their interests and energy.
3rd Floor
Quiet Space & Silent Auction
The third floor offers a quieter environment for those who may need a moment to rest and recharge during the day. Guests are invited to relax and enjoy a calming “Tea with Iroh” experience designed to encourage reflection and connection in a low-sensory space. This floor will also host the actually silent auction, featuring items sourced from across Chattanooga as well as artwork created by autistic artists & neurodiverse. It’s a place to slow down, reset, and explore unique pieces while supporting the community
4th Floor
Market & Open Mic
The fourth floor hosts the Autistic Pride Day Market, featuring a curated selection of vendors offering art, crafts, and unique goods. Community tables and organizations will also be present, providing opportunities to connect with groups doing meaningful work throughout the region. A small stage will host Open Mic Infodumping, where attendees are invited to share their passions, special interests, and talents with the community. This floor brings together creativity, connection, and the chance for everyone to take the spotlight.
Outdoors
Festival & Welcome
Before entering the building, guests will be welcomed by an outdoor festival area filled with interactive side quests and activities hosted by community partners. Visitors can enjoy face painting and balloon creations from Creatives on the Go Party Co, make custom bracelets at the DIY station from The Craft Cottage, and experience Bubble Mania presented by Northern Lights Behavioral Consulting.
This area also serves as the welcome point for the day, where volunteers will greet attendees and help guide them to registration to begin their adventure. It’s the perfect place to connect with the community, explore the first activities of the day, and get ready for everything waiting inside.
Create the Adventure
Autistic Pride Day is built by the community, and there are many ways to help shape the experience. From designing event gear to volunteering your time, this is where you can contribute your creativity and energy to the celebration.
Opportunities include:
Partner With Us
Autistic Pride Day brings together community organizations, creators, and businesses from across the region. If you would like to host a table, share resources, or participate as a vendor, this is where you can learn more and apply.
Partnership opportunities include:
Support the Celebration
Autistic Pride Day is made possible through the generosity of individuals and organizations who believe in celebrating autistic voices and community. If you would like to help sustain this event, there are several ways to contribute.
Ways to support include:
Thank you to our Underwriters
With your support of the first Autistic Pride Day in the Southeast, you are showing how community strengthens ommunity through autistic leadership.
Uncle Iroh has been my hero for a long time now. I believe the world needs more Iroh, so here I am. If you see me out, please join me for tea.
Chattooine is a charity costuming group founded in 2004 here in Chattanooga. Our mission is to spread happiness and joy through costuming, contribute to the local community through costumed charity and volunteer work, and encourage creativity while sharing the fun of pop culture and fandoms with others.
REconnect Nature School is a Nature-Immersive, Community-Facing, STEAM-Focused, Microschool for Middle and High School aged students.
Let's Reimagine Education Together. Our approach to education is rooted in the belief that by combining academics with real-world applications, we can prepare our students not only to excel academically but also to become compassionate stewards of this world. Through innovative projects that blend creativity with conservation, students develop a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness between themselves and the world around them.
Barking Legs Theater’s mission is to enhance the community by cultivating and mentoring diverse artists, presenters, and audiences in an accessible and creative environment. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the work of contemporary performing artists in the Southeast and beyond.
We are committed to supporting and presenting work that challenges the barriers that inhibit new growth and exploration and that push outside the prescribed boundaries of the performing arts. We seek to serve the community through outreach programs, arts projects, and classes.
What This Day Builds
Bringing Autistic Pride Day to Chattanooga is more than hosting an event — it’s creating a space where autistic identity is recognized as culture and community. This day strengthens the groundwork for future gatherings, collaborations, and shared imagination. Every person who participates helps shape what grows from here.