Scheduling of the Annual Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade

Annual scheduling for the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade is based on Memorial Day weekend and those dates. Sometimes this means an overlap with holidays like Juneteenth, or more commonly, Father’s Day, and sometimes it does not. Over the years, for various reasons, we have actually investigated alternative dates and, in all reality, we have very little choice for an event the size of Portland Pride. The Rose Festival precedes us (with multiple events, large and small, before that) with the Blues Festival after, all within just a couple of days of each other followed by even more events through July and August. There is an incredibly narrow window of opportunity for us to hold the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade in Portland, simply because Portland is, and has historically been, a hugely popular event city. There are multiple events that are an annual occurrence for the summer months and Portland is not big enough for events to not overlap in planning and physical preparation, or in the events themselves.

Years in which the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade overlaps with Juneteenth, we increase even more the intentionality with which we plan, especially with regard to the Main Stage, Black Queer visibility, and economic opportunity. This manifests primarily (but not exclusively) through, among other things,  engaging and following the leadership of Black LGBTQIA2S+ producers and performers for the Main Stage, actively inviting and lifting up Black-owned businesses to participate, and utilizing our platforms to share Juneteenth history as well as events happening in Portland.

Historically, Pride celebrations across the nation have struggled to center, and have often intentionally excluded the voices and experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Pride Northwest has long believed that Pride events and their organizers can and must do better. Whether through the Pride celebration itself, or our work and other programming throughout the year, doing better is what drives our actions and decisions as an organization in charge of creating space for the intentional visibility and celebration of our diverse community. This intentionality in creating a platform for our community’s intersections is true in years in which Portland Pride weekend overlaps with Juneteenth, and just as importantly, in years in which it does not. We are committed to respecting and honoring the contributions of queer Black, Indigenous, and people of color, every day, and every year, not just when Portland Pride and Juneteenth (or any other significant date) intersect.  We will continue doing the work of building Portland Pride into a space that reflects, honors, celebrates, and lifts up the voices and contributions of the full diversity of our community, this year and every year.