Earlier this month on June 15, the 44th annual Portland Pride Parade marched through the Rose City in a flurry of floats, cars and costumes. The parade is the keystone of a series of summer events put on by Pride Northwest, a local nonprofit organization founded on the premise of celebrating Oregon’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizenry. While the end of Oregon’s gay marriage ban in mid-May certainly contributed to the celebration’s cheer, marchers continued to rally against homophobia, transphobia and other forms of intolerance in an effort to give a voice to members the city’s LGBT communities that still face marginalization on a regular basis.
PNW’s summer events will conclude with the upcoming Pride Glow Run scheduled to take place along the Portland waterfront on August 2.