Eugene Pride is back this Saturday, June 28, with a new home, a packed schedule, and a message of resilience, inclusivity, and safety.
This year marks a major transition for the annual celebration. For the first time, Eugene Pride will take place in June, aligning with national Pride Month, and will move from its longtime home in Alton Baker Park to the Lane Events Center.
The changes are "exciting and purposeful," said Brooks McLain, the President and Marketing Coordinator for Eugene Pride.
“We are moving to the Lane Events Center,” McLain said. "The entire area will be fenced and gated for security purposes. With the threats against the community right now, we want to make sure everyone’s safe. But all of people’s favorite things about Pride will stay the same.”
The festival will feature nearly 300 vendors and a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. Visitors can expect three performance stages, including a new DJ stage, along with live music, drag shows, and a range of food and drinks. A 21+ after-party will extend the celebration until 10 p.m. at the fairgrounds.
Returning are many of Pride’s beloved features, including the veterans village, sober circle, an interfaith area, and a sensory zone. McLain said accessibility was a major factor in the venue change.
“We have had an overwhelming number of people who have never been able to attend Pride because they use a wheelchair or otherwise can’t spend that much time navigating through grass,” they said. “To have everything be on flat paved surfaces, with cooling inside so they don’t get too hot, it’ll make a big difference.”
The event kicks off with a morning rally and march. Attendees will gather at Kesey Square in downtown Eugene at 9, with speakers and entertainment beginning at 9:30. The march to the Lane Events Center begins at 10:30.
Security will be tighter than in previous years. Organizers are implementing bag checks and a ticketed entry system to ensure safety.
In a year marked by rising political and social tensions, McLain said one of the deciding factors to switch venues was the need to create a protected space where joy can still thrive.
“It’s really important just to be visible and loud and proud at this time, not to go back into the closet and not to let those who would intimidate us or erase us be successful,” McLain said.
In addition to the activities lined up, the event will include many resources to support attendees year-long, including student scholarships, housing assistance, counseling, and voter outreach efforts. Petitioners will also be present, collecting signatures for a proposed amendment to the Oregon constitution that would protect marriage equality and transgender healthcare rights.
While Pride is rooted in protest, McLain emphasized that celebration is just as essential.
“Queer liberation is inextricably tied to queer joy. That’s why they don’t want us to be visible, because we’re out and we’re happy and we’re proud, and that really bugs some people,” he said. “That's what we're fighting for, the fight isn’t for the fight itself, it's so we can achieve queer liberation, and we’re not there yet, so we gotta keep fighting.”
However, Pride has also received criticism over the years for its party focus while leaving LGBTQ+ people in minority communities behind. McLain said that was an important factor when producing this festival.
“Marsha P. Johnson said: ‘There’s No Pride For Some of Us Without Liberation For All of Us,’ we don’t want to leave behind those who haven’t experienced full access to rights,” they said. “It’s really important to honor those transgender women of color who started the uprising at Stonewall and the folks at the Compton Cafeteria Riots—that activism and that work has brought us where we are today.”
This year, more than 200 volunteers have signed up to help manage checkpoints and support event operations, the highest number in Eugene Pride’s history. McLain said they see that engagement as a sign of growing support from across the community.
“We’re really seeing the community double down in support of the LGBTQ community,” they said. “If we all do our part little by little, then we can squash this rise of fascism; it’s fear, it’s hiding, and it’s being quiet that will cause them to be successful. So don’t give in to them, don’t turn off the news, stay engaged, stay with us, we need allies right now more than ever.”
