MISSOULA - Missoula Pride hosted its second annual Pride parade and block party on Saturday, June 17, 2023 — an event that grew exponentially from the previous year.
“Our parade had twice as many entries as last year. Our footprint here is bigger and we have more vendors and more people I think are participating so we’re really excited about all that," Western Montana Community Center co-director Devin Carpenter told MTN News.
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The people of Missoula showed up in full force, whether it was members of the LGBTQ+ community or their allies. The community showed up and unapologetically behaved as their true selves.
Many local businesses and vendors showed up to support the Pride Block Party as donations and support from local businesses made the events of this weekend possible.
The Western Montana Community Center made it a goal to not have any corporate sponsors and the overwhelming support from local businesses and the community made the events even more special.
“It’s just more evidence that we are a welcoming and inclusive society, and the people that want to divide us or try to set things off do not represent the people of Missoula or Montana," explained Western Montana Community Center board member Charlotte Macorn.
Those at the Pride Block Party had the opportunity to hear from Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr who spoke about what the city’s support meant to her.
“When I transitioned Missoula held me in her arms in a way that I needed desperately, and when people tried to silence me in the legislature well they went after the wrong trans woman and they went after the wrong city.”
Visit https://www.missoula-pride.com/events for more information about Pride Month events being planned throughout the rest of the month in Missoula.
