Coeur d'Alene celebrates Pride in the Park

COEUR d’ALENE — Rainbows, music and laughter filled City Park on Saturday as thousands gathered under overcast skies for North Idaho Pride Alliance’s annual Pride in the Park celebration.

“It feels joyful,” said Dr. Sarah Lynch, executive director of North Idaho Pride Alliance.

Pride in the Park is a five-hour stretch where North Idaho’s LGBTQ+ community and those who love them gather to celebrate their history and look toward the future. But that community is here all year long, Lynch said.

“Especially in North Idaho, it’s important for LGBT people to be visible,” she said. “LGBT people are your neighbors, your friends, your kids, your parents.”

The North Idaho Pride Alliance aims to create a safe, positive community where LGBTQ+ people can thrive. As Lynch looked out at the thousands of people celebrating in City Park — at least as many as last year’s record-breaking turnout — she said it’s clear the mission is succeeding.

“We are your community,” she said.

Celebrants lined up to take photos in front of a U-Haul truck with a rainbow-colored backdrop on one side, an ironic nod to the 2022 Pride in the Park celebration. That year, 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front were pulled out of a U-Haul truck and arrested while on their way to disrupt the event.

The U-Haul photo op came courtesy of Post Falls resident Eric Posey. Images of Posey performing in drag at Pride in the Park in 2022 went viral after Post Falls blogger Summer Bushnell published an edited video of Posey’s performance and falsely accused him of exposing himself to the crowd.

Last week, Posey made international news again — this time because a Kootenai County jury unanimously found that Bushnell defamed him and awarded him more than $1.1 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Many people approached Posey on Saturday to congratulate him on his courtroom victory. He said he was glad to return to Pride in the Park and see North Idaho’s LGBTQ+ community out in force.

“It feels like a win,” Posey said. “There’s still a lot of work that we have to do, but I am proud of North Idaho. So many people rallied behind me and I love every one of them.”

There was a lot of love to go around Saturday. Spokane resident Sarah Cooper carried with her a colorful sign emblazoned with the words “Mom Hugs.”

“I realize there are a lot of people who don’t have the love of their parents because they’ve been rejected,” she said.

Cooper showed that love to celebrants in Coeur d’Alene, giving an embrace to anyone who needed one.

“I think it’s important to fight for rights, but it’s also important to have moments of queer joy,” she said.

Coeur d’Alene resident Lisa White said she was gladdened by the sea of smiling faces at City Park. White is pansexual, a term that describes an attraction to people of any gender or regardless of gender, and she and her partner are parents to a transgender child.

“It’s so nice to see the love in Coeur d’Alene,” she said. “It’s great to be part of the community.”

White said she encourages families and friends of transgender individuals to keep an open mind and learn more about the transgender community. Though her partner comes from an “old school” Catholic background, she said it’s been a joy to watch him embrace their transgender son.

“Love your kids,” she said. “If you put that first, the rest falls into place.”

To learn more about North Idaho Pride Alliance’s June events, including an inclusive healthcare panel set for June 14, visit www.nipridealliance.com.

    Post Falls resident Eric Posey returned to Pride in the Park after receiving a $1.1 million award in the defamation lawsuit he levied against a local blogger.

    Peace and Justice Activist Musical Rascals of Spokane, a community marching band, entertained the crowd Saturday in City Park.
  

    Spokane resident Sarah Cooper offered hugs at Pride in the Park.