Drag queen Dela Rosa poses with her rainbow flag during the parade. Throughout the day around 15 drag queens and kings could be found mingling and taking selfies. Photographed Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)
The Delaney Park Strip was gleaming with rainbows and glitter as crowds gathered on Saturday for the annual Anchorage Pride Parade.
Dozens of booths were set up to sell art, clothes and trinkets while others distributed information about queer support services in and around the city. A parade of hundreds circled downtown, with people dancing, cheering and waving rainbow flags. Participants walked, danced, drove and rollerbladed their way through the street to fun music and massive cheers.
Across Alaska, pride month celebrations took place throughout June with celebrants gathering in large numbers in communities including Juneau, Homer, Seward and Skagway. Next year will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Supreme Court case that legalized gay marriage in the United States.
Here are some of our favorite photos from the celebration in Anchorage:
Daniel Salas-Peterson (left) and Tatum Waalkes (right) fully committed to dressing for pride this year. Waalkes said, “I’ve been showing off my rainbow pits all day!” Photographed Saturday, June 29, 2024, at the Delaney Park Strip. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)Members of Congregation Beth Sholom walk in the Anchorage Pride Parade on Saturday, June 29, 2024. Other religious groups also marched including the First Baptist Church of Anchorage and the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)Alaska Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, made an appearance at the Anchorage Pride Parade this year. Other government entities included the office of Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the National Parks Service. Photographed Saturday, June 29 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)Miss Alaska Snow Queen Kaleionalani Medici Puu Lavatai dances throughout the parade while celebrating with Utopia Alaska, a group for queer and transgender Pacific Islanders in Anchorage. Saturday, June 29 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)Queen Lamina poses with Nadine Poje (left) and Jaime Sage (right) between performances during the festival. The festival performances included drag shows, performative storytelling, dancing competitions and musical guests. Photographed Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)Several activist groups also participated in pride this year. Members of the Anchorage Queers for Palestine led cheers of “Free, free Palestine” while they marched. Photographed Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska was the grand marshal for Anchorage Pride this year. Director of Strategic Development Laura Herman cheered as she moved through the parade. Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media) Art and artists were everywhere at Anchorage Pride with dozens of booths set up to sell and hundreds of items to see. Sable Rose Kuiper showed off their hand-made crochet sweater that reads “trans joy is resistance.” Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)
