Thousands take downtown to celebrate Spokane Pride
SPOKANE, Wash. — Despite the rain, Mother Nature couldn’t drown out the support at Spokane’s 27th Pride celebration. Thousands flocked to downtown to support the city’s LGBTQ community and watched as countless local business and advocacy groups walked in Saturday’s parade.
Supporter Erica Schreiber said she attended the parade in solidarity with the members of the LGBTQ community.
“I think it’s about self-expression and making sure that everybody has the right to walk through this life the way that they want to walk through this life and have respect for that,” Schreiber said.
The theme for this year’s event was “Pride: Now More Than Ever.” People of all ages and walks of life joined together in celebration before heading to the Rainbow Festival at Riverfront Park.
Hunter McCool, 14, is a member of the LGBTQ community herself. She told KXLY she’s grateful for Pride and the acceptance it brings to Spokane.
“Being with people who accept me and don’t really end up judging who I am is just really nice, which isn’t really something that happens a lot when it’s not in a place like this,” McCool said. “It’s just nice to feel no judgment from the people I care about.”
McCool said she hopes the acceptance she felt at Saturday’s celebration spreads beyond Spokane.
“People just want to be people, because it really doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do,” McCool said. “It’s just, you should be happy and if it’s not hurting anybody, it shouldn’t matter.”
Pride will continue with the Rainbow Festival at Riverfront Park until 10 p.m. and a fireworks show at 10 p.m.
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