For the first time in three years, Anchorage residents will celebrate Pride with a parade downtown this weekend.
The pandemic put the annual event on hold. But on Saturday morning, the Delaney Park Strip will be surrounded by floats, music and people in colorful outfits.
Parade organizer JJ Harrier said he put the event together in just a month and a half.
“I kind of took charge,” he said. “I was like, we need to have a parade. I mean, you can’t have gay pride without a parade.”
Harrier has worked on Anchorage Pride for eight years. He said the parade was hosted by the nonprofit organization Identity Alaska every year since 1977. But Harrier said they didn’t have the capacity this year, so the Alaskans Together Foundation, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, agreed to take on the project.
During Anchorage’s first Pride parade in 1977, Harrier said people marched with bags over their heads so they wouldn’t lose their jobs. While that’s not the case anymore, he said it’s important to remember there’s still work to be done.
“On top of celebrating pride and being proud of who we are, it is also an opportunity to gauge what’s going on in the LGBT community, and, you know, what’s happening, what’s moving with policies and laws that are affecting us as a community,” Harrier said.
Harrier‘s favorite part of the parade is how it brings people together.
“It’ll be loud, it’ll be happy, it’ll be celebratory. It’ll be families having a good time,” he said. “And it happens so quickly, and then it’s over. So we just encourage people to come down and check it out. It’s always a fabulous time.”
The parade is set to start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, circling the Park Strip between E and I streets. It ends at the Celebrate Pride festival in the park, where there will be music, food, and performances. The festival goes on all day.
Dev Hardikar was Alaska Public Media's 2023 summer news intern. Reach him at dhardikar@alaskapublic.org.
