Idaho Falls Pride organizers say events will be family friendly
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IDAHO FALLS — Organizers of Idaho Falls Pride say its upcoming events are geared toward youth and families.
This is the first year Idaho Falls Pride has held events in June to line up with Pride Month. The events start Thursday and go through Saturday, finishing with the drag competition. Organizers say they want everyone to feel included, so they have made the events family friendly.
“Idaho Falls is pretty much a family-based community,” Idaho Falls Marketing Director Arynn Hawkins said. “And that’s exactly how the LGBTQ community is itself. The LGBTQ community (in Idaho Falls) is very family based. It’s not anything crazy like San Francisco or Seattle or anything like that. We’re catering to our community.”
Idaho Falls Pride kicks off with a community fundraiser with MacKenzie River Pizza on Thursday. All day, 20 percent of all purchases with a voucher, not including alcoholic beverages, will go to Idaho Falls Pride. Idaho Falls Pride is a registered non-profit organization.
Friday at the Unitarian Universalist Church on 555 E Street anyone is invited to build balloon backpacks from noon to 3 for the parade on Saturday. Pizza from Lucy’s Pizza and sandwiches from Sandwich Tree will be provided.
“It’s super fun,” Hawkins said. “(The balloon backpacks) are pretty gnarly. They just have crazy colorful balloons going everywhere.”
Friday night at 7 is the OUTstaged Comedy Night at the Teton Event Center. Tickets are $10.
The parade starts at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Attendees will parade along the Greenbelt to the Pride Festival north of the farmer’s market.
The festival will host 50 booths with food trucks, vendors and other booths. It will go to 2 p.m.
Idaho Falls Pride will wrap up with a drag competition at 7 p.m. Saturday. Ages 14 and older can compete.
“All of our events this year are centered around our youth. Every event that we have are youth-friendly. Even our drag competition … we like to keep it really family friendly,” Hawkins said.
