Anchorage Pride 2023
Contributed by Sydney Stokes
"In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction."- Audre Lorde: Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.
Audre Lorde famously recognized and addressed intersectional feminism and how radical community care can be. As a bisexual, Black, Nonbinary Woman, I resonate with Lorde’s message that to lead with love and allow yourself to feel means acknowledging all parts of your identity. I am a board member of Identity Alaska and one of the Co-Chairs of the Pride Collective, which is a group of individuals, organization leaders, and community members that are volunteering at many Pride events this year. The Pride Collective has established that we want to ensure Queer and Trans BIPOC organizations, artists, and community members are uplifted, supported, heard and have a safe space to represent their work and contributions to the community. Expanding on Identity Alaska: Identity's mission is to advance Alaska's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, and two-spirited + community through advocacy, education, health care, and connectivity.
This year on June 24th, the Alaskans Together For Equality will host the Anchorage Pride Parade and is now accepting applications for participants and sponsors. The Anchorage Pride Parade will be held at 11:30am at the Delaney Park Strip, and the application deadline is June 10th. The Celebrate Pride festival will follow the Parade on June 24th and will be held at the Delaney Park Strip from 12pm-5pm. Hosted by Darrin Huycke from Huycke Entertainment, Celebrate Pride is accepting applications for vendors and performers.
If you are interested in being a vendor, volunteer, or want to register to be in the Parade, or have any additional questions, you can reach out to me via email which is sydneyastokes16@gmail.com , or contact JJ Harrier at jj_harrier@yahoo.com and Darrin Huycke at huycke.entertainment@gmail.com. Regarding the Parade, there is a need for volunteers on the day of and for groups to register to be in the Parade. There are also three levels of parade entries:
For-Profit Parade Participant ($100)
Non-Profit Parade Participant ($60)
LGBTQ+ Group Parade Participant ($40)
There are also three sponsorship levels ($500 to $3,000) from LGBTQ+ supporting businesses only.
The Pride Collective is gently asking for donations to support this year's Rainbow Run on June 20th, hosted by Anchorage Front Runners, Snow City Cafe, and Four A's. The Pride Collective aims to volunteer in any way possible for many Pride events, and for the Rainbow Run, we are obtaining the food and eating supplies portion of the event. We are also aiming to help cook, which we are working to recruit folks that have their food handling cards.
We are a safe space for all folks interested in supporting and facilitating Pride events to join the conversation and organize as a community to have all Pride events accessible, collaborative, and community-focused.
Thank you.