Pride Northwest
Encyclopedia
Pride Northwest, also referred to as Portland
Pride Festival, is the name of the non-profit organization
that organizes Portland
, Oregon
's pride event. Gay pride
in Portland
has been celebrated since the 1970s. The Portland Lesbian
, Gay
, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer
Pride Celebration, is a parade
and festival
held in June each year to celebrate the lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, and transgendered people and their allies
. Few cities the size of Portland
have a more progressive and active GLBT community, and this is especially the case since the election in 2008 of Sam Adams as city mayor (making Portland one of the largest cities in America
with an openly gay mayor).
The mission of Pride Northwest, Inc. is to encourage and celebrate the positive diversity
of the lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, transgender
and queer
communities, and to assist in the education of all people through the development of activities that showcase the history, accomplishments, and talents of these communities. Pride Northwest's official name for the event is "The Portland
Lesbian
, Gay
, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer
Pride Celebration." Informally it is referred to it as Queer
Pride. The Pride Northwest organization is committed to being as inclusive as they can. They claim that calling the event "Gay Pride" dismisses the fact that many people who do not identify as gay attend this event and are part of the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ community is very diverse, and as an organization, they wish to acknowledge and honor that diversity.
in New York
. It was originally planned to be on the third weekend in June, however it has been switched to Fathers' Day weekend due to Waterfront Park
's popularity and maintenance schedule. Pride events include entertainment and performances, food and crafts vendors, mulitiple specialized events, and a main pride parade. The main pride parade is held on the Sunday during Fathers' Day weekend. The parade
route usually departs from the North Park Blocks in the Pearl District, runs along Broadway through downtown, turns east down Taylor Street, and finishes with a final turn north along Naito Parkway, leading into Tom McCall Park.
during pride weekend. Women, biological or otherwise are encouraged to march and generally gather in Portland's North Park Blocks on the Saturday before Sunday's main pride parade. Allies are encouraged to support the Dyke March
from the sidelines.
, it is not illegal for women to go topless in public, Oregon's indecent exposure
law only prohibits nudity intended to induce arousal in public. Women are allowed to be topless at the Pride events. Pride Northwest does encourage all of its attendees to express themselves as they choose, and be tolerant of one another.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
Pride Festival, is the name of the non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that organizes Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
's pride event. Gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
has been celebrated since the 1970s. The Portland Lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, Gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
Pride Celebration, is a parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
and festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
held in June each year to celebrate the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, and transgendered people and their allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
. Few cities the size of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
have a more progressive and active GLBT community, and this is especially the case since the election in 2008 of Sam Adams as city mayor (making Portland one of the largest cities in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with an openly gay mayor).
Pride Northwest, Inc
In 1994, Pride Northwest, Inc. was officially created as an organization. This is a non-profit organization that organizes the Pride Northwest festival every year in Portland, OR.The mission of Pride Northwest, Inc. is to encourage and celebrate the positive diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
of the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
communities, and to assist in the education of all people through the development of activities that showcase the history, accomplishments, and talents of these communities. Pride Northwest's official name for the event is "The Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
Lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, Gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
Pride Celebration." Informally it is referred to it as Queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
Pride. The Pride Northwest organization is committed to being as inclusive as they can. They claim that calling the event "Gay Pride" dismisses the fact that many people who do not identify as gay attend this event and are part of the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ community is very diverse, and as an organization, they wish to acknowledge and honor that diversity.
Events
Portland's pride festival was originally scheduled to run every June to commemorate the Stonewall RiotsStonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was originally planned to be on the third weekend in June, however it has been switched to Fathers' Day weekend due to Waterfront Park
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is , comprising 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland....
's popularity and maintenance schedule. Pride events include entertainment and performances, food and crafts vendors, mulitiple specialized events, and a main pride parade. The main pride parade is held on the Sunday during Fathers' Day weekend. The parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
route usually departs from the North Park Blocks in the Pearl District, runs along Broadway through downtown, turns east down Taylor Street, and finishes with a final turn north along Naito Parkway, leading into Tom McCall Park.
Portland Dyke March
Pride Northwest also includes a Dyke MarchDyke March
Dyke March is a mostly lesbian-led and inclusive gathering and protest march much like the original gay pride parades and marches. They usually occur the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades and larger metropolitan areas have related events both before and after the event to further...
during pride weekend. Women, biological or otherwise are encouraged to march and generally gather in Portland's North Park Blocks on the Saturday before Sunday's main pride parade. Allies are encouraged to support the Dyke March
Dyke March
Dyke March is a mostly lesbian-led and inclusive gathering and protest march much like the original gay pride parades and marches. They usually occur the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades and larger metropolitan areas have related events both before and after the event to further...
from the sidelines.
Oregon's indecent exposure law
In PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, it is not illegal for women to go topless in public, Oregon's indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
law only prohibits nudity intended to induce arousal in public. Women are allowed to be topless at the Pride events. Pride Northwest does encourage all of its attendees to express themselves as they choose, and be tolerant of one another.
Themes and parade Grand Marshal
| Year | Theme | Grand Marshal(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Pride To The People" | Darcelle XV |
| 2009 | "United We Stand" | Kendall Clawson |
| 2008 | "Pride Bring It" | Basic Rights of Oregon |
| 2007 | "" | Tina Kotek Tina Kotek Tina Kotek is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, she serves as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives... |
| 2006 | "" | |
| 2005 | "Everyday People" | Vera Katz Vera Katz Vera Katz is a Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 45th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. Growing up in New York City, she moved to Portland in 1962 and was elected to the Oregon... |
| 2004 | "" | |
| 2003 | "" | |
| 2002 | "" | |
| 2001 | "" | Ann Shepherd |
| 2000 | "" | |
| 1999 | "" | |
| 1998 | "" | |
| 1997 | "" | |
| 1996 | "" | Chastity Bono Chastity Bono Chaz Salvatore Bono is an American transgender advocate, writer, actor, and musician. Bono is the only child of American entertainers Sonny and Cher, though each had children from other relationships... |
| 1995 | "" | |
| 1994 | "" | |