June is Pride month throughout the land. Except for Tacoma, where Pride blossoms a month later in July.

Pride month means more than parades and festivals. It means businesses and community organizations celebrating and affirming all during the month. Rainbow flags and banners fly from downtown buildings long before the actual events, and there are special events too numerous to include here. It's the time when Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queer and questioning folk celebrate their heritage, continue and intensify their ongoing struggle for equal civil rights and look forward to a brighter future. And few people know how to celebrate like LGBTQs know how to celebrate.

Olympia

This year's Pride season kicks off June 19 in Olympia with partying the night before the festival in the Heritage Park begins. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Capital City Pride.

"This year promises something old, something new and plenty of fun. We are moving to Heritage Park, a place where we have room to grow. Once again, we hope to paint the town rainbow, inspiring more downtown business to hoist rainbow flags. And our line-up will offer something for everyone," said Pride Chair Anna Schlecht.

Pride Day in Olympia has grown since 1991 when it started with a few brave souls to become one of the most vibrant community festivals in the Thurston County area. The first Northwest small-town pride to be hosted outside the safety of a big city, Olympia Pride has grown from a small march for equality to one of the largest festivals in the county. It draws nearly 15,000 people into downtown Olympia.

Scheduled entertainers for this year's Capital City Pride festival include old favorites such as the Kim Archer Band, an R&B band from Tacoma. Also returning will be Xavier Toscano and his high octane dancers from the Bay Area. New this year, Pride will bring home Olympia-native Cole Hartley, who's success as drag performer Alusia has taken her to the Grammy Awards as a back-up dancer for Beyonce. Also new will be the awe-inspiring Caravan of Glam from Portland, a vaudeville-meets-drag troupe coming off their star turn on America's Got Talent.

The Pride festival is a two-day event, with the parade from the capitol down to Heritage Park on the shores of Capital Lake kicking off at noon Sunday, June 21.  Parade entries will include flashy floats, marching contingents wearing rainbow-themed bling, rounded out by drag queens from near and far.

"I love how our parade not only celebrates the diversity within our community, but proudly and tastefully displays it for all to enjoy. Pride is a family-friendly event that invites the general public in not only recognizing the sacrifices and efforts that went into this cause, but also honors the achievements and the future of our LGBTQ community. That's something that I am very proud to be a part of," said parade coordinator Gina Thompson.

"With nearly one hundred booths, a robust family activity center and the ever-popular Fabulous Food Court, PRIDE 25! will spring up like a one-weekend LGBTQ city near Capital Lake. Encircled by banners and tall rainbow flags, the Pride festival grounds create the perfect place to honor diversity and celebrate a quarter century of pride," Schlecht said.

For more information on Capital City Pride, visit the website at www.capitalcitypride.net.
 
Tacoma

Tacoma's Pride festival, Out in the Park, is an outdoor street festival that takes place in downtown Tacoma at Pierce Transit Park July 11 from noon to 5 p.m. Out in the Park, a program of the Rainbow Center, is a family-friendly festival that features street-side vendor booths and an eclectic mix of live performances by, but not limited to, musical groups and soloists, cirque performers, vaudeville, drag acts and speakers.

Out in the Park is the largest attended Pride event in Tacoma with expected attendance of more than 8,500. It is the main highlight of the Tacoma Pride Festival. The festival is a multi-day celebration during the second week of July of each year. This year, it is July 10-18.

Pride events throughout the city include the Rainbow Flag Raising over Tacoma City Hall with city officials & Tacoma Mayor Strickland, the Tacoma Pride Film Series featuring LGBTQ films at The Grand Cinema, Rainbow City Pride Awards presented by the Pride Foundation for greater Pierce County, and Oasis Youth Center's Proud Outloud event.

Out in the Park is still accepting vendor applications and is seeking volunteers.

More information at http://tacomapride.org/.