The Seattle Traveler

Seattle Pride This Weekend. . . and Every Day of the Year

by Mary Jo on June 22nd, 2007

Despite my occasional grumbling about the Seattle weather, there are many things about my city that give me a great deal of pride. One of those reasons happens this weekend with the annual Seattle Pride celebration, a cultural and community celebration of our GLBT community.

While a small, provincial city in many ways, Seattle has frequently been on the leading edge with respect to recognition, acceptance, and protection of rights based on sexual orientation. A few historical highlights:

• In 1978, Seattle became the first city to vote against repealing its city ordinance prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. That same year saw gubernatorial candidate Mike Lowry actively courting support and votes from the GLBT community and making public appearances at many events. He won the election.

• In 1983, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen permitted Dignity (an organization of Catholic gays and lesbians) to celebrate a special Mass in St. James Cathedral, drawing ire from the Vatican.

• In 1987, Cal Anderson became the first openly gay state legislator.

While Seattle Pride was the originator of the Pride events, political issues resulted in the emergence of a competing organization, parade, and festival organized by Seattle Pride Fest. It’s become a political battle (which won’t be discussed here), but in a nutshell, Seattle Pride activities center around the gay community’s roots on Capital Hill, and Seattle Pride Fest activities center around the more highly visible downtown area. Check them both out and decide for yourself.

This weekend’s Pride festivities celebrate the diversity, community, respect and fun of our GLBT residents. Check out Seattle Pride’s schedule of events, or Seattle Pride Fest’s schedule of events, and you’ll find everything from religious services to various parties, from entertainment to the parades. Some events are family friendly, others are adult only. The diversity of the community is evident from the diversity of the activities, so there’s sure to be an event to appeal to everyone.

Since those early days, Seattle has had to overcome a few hiccups in the area of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, but we’ve managed to stay a well-integrated and respectful city. It makes me proud, not only this weekend of Seattle Pride, but every day of the year.

Photo credit: Parade photo by flickr; Dykes on Bikes photo by flickr

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Tags: b5media, city blogs, destination blogs, festivals, music, outdoor activities, Seattle, Seattle Center, Seattle tourism, Seattle Traveler, The Seattle Traveler, travel, travel blogs, vacation, Washington, Washington State, Seattle Pride, GLBT

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