Temperatures could be at scorching levels on Saturday for the twice-rescheduled Pride Parade, and the rainbow banners that were supposed to be displayed along Westheimer still haven’t been hung — but the show will go on, and it’s a testament to the resilience of Houston’s LGBTQ+ community, organizers say.
Festivities begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, August 15, in downtown Houston near City Hall. The event is free and open to the public, but $200 VIP tickets can be purchased for access to an air-conditioned tent with complimentary appetizers and an open bar. A cash bar is available for everyone ages 21 and up.
Kerry-Ann Morrison, president of the Pride Houston 365 board, said Tuesday she’s ready but was still working on building a bar, a stage and a photo booth so guests can take professional pictures that look like magazine covers.
The parade starts at 7 p.m. at Smith and Lamar Streets, winding through downtown Houston to end at Milam and Pease.
Pride Houston 365 has hosted a parade and festival since 1979, typically on the last weekend in June, to commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 riots that occurred during a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar.
Because World Cup events were taking over downtown in late June, the event was pushed to an earlier date. A festival was held June 6, but thunderstorms and lightning prompted the cancellation of the parade.
Morrison said last year’s parade and festival drew about 400,000 people, and she hopes about 150,000 will come out on Saturday. The number of parade participants dropped from 99 organizations to 86 after the June 6 cancellation. However, she said, it’s not about the number of people; it’s about what Houston Pride means to the community.
“Houston already showed up once, on June 6, and we had to postpone because of the weather,” Morrison said. “The cancellation felt like a hit to the community because they came to not only celebrate but to advocate. Having this rescheduled date, we’re showing what Houston does when the plan changes and what circumstances get difficult. That’s what we’ve had to deal with our whole lives.”
“When the community is tested, we figure out another way and we show up for each other,” she added.
Pride Houston 365 was also thrilled to learn that the City of Houston is proceeding with hanging Pride banners in Montrose, as a compromise solution to the state-mandated removal of rainbow crosswalks in October.
Jack Valinski, a former president of the Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood, commended the city council last month for agreeing to hang 10 banners from utility poles along Westheimer throughout Montrose. The flags represent an inclusive Houston, Valinski has said.
“Moving the banner district forward brings a lot of happiness to our community,” he said at the July 7 council meeting. “It’s just a bunch of rags on utility poles but it actually means a lot to us.”
Morrison said the installation of the banners has been delayed while approval is pending from CenterPoint Energy. The parade doesn’t run through Montrose this year — it’s concentrated downtown — so the banners aren’t vital to having an amazing event, but she’d like to see them go up as soon as possible.
“If it could happen by Saturday, that would be a blessing,” she said. “I’m hoping, but I can’t see it happening because there’s not enough time. I lived in Toronto and there are banners all throughout the gay district, and it’s very inviting.”
This year’s parade theme is “Limitless,” which represents expansion, elevation, and breaking boundaries across community, culture, and impact. Organizers tout the fact that Houston’s event is one of the only nighttime Pride parades in the country and one of the largest in the South.
“The parade is a place where all LGBTQIA+ Houstonians can stand alongside their chosen family,” Morrison said. “A lot of our families [of origin] depart from us when we stand in our truth. Our friends and our allies and all these businesses come together to show up for our community. It tells us that we belong here and that there’s nothing you can do to erase us. It tells us that we matter.”
As of early this week, Saturday’s forecast showed sunshine with a high of 95 degrees, but it’s Houston, and anything can happen. Parade organizers are planning to distribute free water and electrolytes. Misting stations, cooling fans and shaded “sunbrella” areas will be positioned near the parade route.
Street closures begin Friday evening for setup. All lanes of McKinney from Bagby to Louisiana will be shut down. Smith remains open for southbound traffic until Saturday at 6 p.m. All lanes of Walker from Bagby to Smith will be closed until midnight Saturday.
On the day of the parade, closures are planned from 4 to 11 p.m. along sections of Smith, Lamar, Bagby, Milam, Pease, Allen Parkway, Walker and Dallas.
