Floats filled with community members, performers and rainbows will travel through downtown OKC this Sunday in thePride Alliance Parade.
The theme is “Queer Joy: The Resistance.”
“I think after this year of unimaginable legislative attacks against our community, both in the state and around the country, we believe that queer joy is resistance,” said Kylan Durant, president of the Oklahoma City Pride Alliance.
Oklahoma City’s 2023 PrideFest will occur over three days in Scissortail Park.
Theparade will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, traveling down Walker Avenue, turning onto OKC Boulevard and ending at Scissortail Park, where other Pride festivities will be taking place.
The event is set to last for an hour. That’s shorter than past years because of hot temperatures.
Council unanimously approved the Pride Alliance’s right-of-way use permit at theJune 20 City Council meeting, which will allow the parade to travel down Walker Avenue and OKC Boulevard.
“(I’m) just really looking forward to another celebration of allowing people to live out who they are,” councilmember JoBeth Hamon said. “And, I’m grateful that Ward 6 gets to host you at Scissortail for this event, and really appreciate what you all bring to the city.”
The parade is one of the many Pride events planned for this weekend - their purpose? Bettering life for queer people.
The Trevor Projectreported that 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in 2022. But, that number was significantly lower for queer young people who lived in accepting communities.
“Having affirming spaces, which we are creating in downtown OKC, improves those, improves that mental health,” Durant said. “So, that’s why we put on this three-day festival and parade.”
A full schedule of OKC PrideFest events can be found online at the OKC Pride Alliance’s website.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
