Jumpstart into Pride month with Pride in the Park, Spokane Pride Parade and Festival
With Pride month kicking off Saturday, Coeur d’Alene and Spokane are bringing back annual events celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.
Pride in the Park, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the City Park Bandshell in Coeur d’Alene, will include more than 70 vendors and entertainment throughout the whole day, said Sarah Lynch, North Idaho Pride Alliance executive director.
Lynch said the event will allow people to celebrate the ability to gather as a community of LGBTQ+ people and be themselves.
Over the past few years, Lynch has seen consistent growth in participation, and she expects this year will be one of the largest she has seen. There were around 50 vendors in 2022 and around 60 in 2023, and she expects to see more than 70 on Saturday.
In 2022, a group of 31 people went to Pride in the Park with a plan to disrupt the event with riot shields, shin guards and a smoke grenade; this year, there is an extensive safety plan in place to not only handle potential protesters, but to navigate such things as a heat stroke or lost child.
Coeur d’Alene police Capt. Dave Hagar said with Pride in the Park and other similar events, the police department looks into potential threats and information prior to the event to create a safety plan.
Hagar said the police department does not release the plan prior to the event.
“I feel comfortable for families. People coming to the event shouldn’t be in fear,” he said.
The Spokane Pride Parade and Festival is from noon to 6 p.m. June 8. Matthew Danielson, Spokane Pride executive director, said the parade will begin on Stevens Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard, and end on Howard Street and Spokane Falls.
When the parade is over, the thousands of people Danielson expects to show up can walk to the park, where six stages and about 200 vendors will be set up. The festival will include a health outreach program, which will consist of a vaccine clinic and other health-related booths.
Danielson said a history and remembrance display will be held at the Pavilion building as well, which will showcase queer people and events throughout the years.
Other Pride events throughout the month of June include the following:
Pride History and Remembrance Project
Lincoln Country Pride Festival
For details, go to spokanepride.org/pride-events.
Editor’s note: This story was changed on May 31, 2024 to correct the spellings of the names of North Idaho Pride Alliance Executive Director Sarah Lynch and Coeur d’Alene police Capt. Dave Hagar.