Montana
2nd annual Pride Parade takes over downtown Missoula
MISSOULA, MT — In Missoula the second annual pride parade kicked off today and even with the rain it wasn’t stopping the parade and the festivities to be had.
The parade ran from 1 to 2 p.m. in downtown Missoula.
Event coordinators say being able to express themselves and share who they are in a safe space is beneficial for generations to come.
“It really allows us to just show our sort of queer community that there are people a lot more people who love and support them across the state of Montana, even though it doesn’t always feel like that sometimes, and so it’s really important just to be visible and to create the opportunity for young people to see that there are people older than them that they can look up to,” Missoula Pride Co-Director Devin Carpenter said.
Saturday’s event is a major fundraiser for the Western Montana Community Center to host events throughout the year.
The parade isn’t the only excitement happening in downtown Missoula following the parade, over 50 vendors came out from food trucks to music, information booths and much more, followed by a block party that went until 10 tonight.