13 hours ago
Thousands gather for Seattle Pride in the Park 2025: ‘It's all about love'
The Brief
Seattle Pride in the Park kicked off with thousands celebrating music, community, and resistance.
This year's theme, "Louder," emphasizing both joyful celebration and active protest against LGBTQ+ rights threats.
The event highlights the importance of visibility and community support amid current political challenges.
SEATTLE - From the music to the artists and the food, thousands of people of all ages gathered at Volunteer Park on Saturday for this year's Seattle Pride in the Park. The event is the official kick-off event for Seattle Pride.
"I'm just happy to be here and see everyone be so proud of themselves," Production Manager for the Diamond Squad for Cheer Seattle, Lili Loyer said.
This year's theme was "Louder."
"We're talking about louder in two ways, it's both about celebration and music and joy and it's about resistance and protests and not being quiet and not standing by while our rights are attacked," Seattle Pride Executive Director Patti Hearn said.
She went on to explain that Pride in the Park is about love, joy and community and said this year's gathering is even more important given the current political climate.
"I think a place where we can come together and have a sense of belonging is always really necessary, but particularly when queer and trans people are feeling their rights are being threatened, their safety is being threatened, it's absolutely important to have that sense of community like we have today," Hearn said.
"Unfortunately, it feels like people are generally less safe outside of our community, so to be here where everyone has the same goals in mind of creating a safe atmosphere for people to exist and have a day in the sunshine is just great," Loyer said.
Eric Olson has been coming to pride for decades and has seen the changes over the years. He even remembers when pink triangles symbolized pride before the rainbow flags. He told FOX 13, having events like Pride in the Park is important because visibility is key.
"When we were fighting for gay marriage, for example, one of the things encouraged was, it may be uncomfortable but please come out because a lot of the narratives that were called out against gay people, they were untrue," Olson said.
From the vendors to the performers, to those basking in the sun, pride in all forms filled Volunteer Park.
"Come out and feel the love, it's all about love," Olson said.
The Source
Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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