Editor’s note: We published this story last year. It was true then and it’s more true than ever today.
Spokane’s Pride Parade and Festival kicks off tomorrow and we wanted to help all of our community have a safe and fun time during the festivities. We talked to community leaders, event organizers and safety experts to get quick tips to ensure you have the best Pride possible.
Tip Number 1: Come with friends!
Kate Bitz, a program manager for Western States Center — an organization that monitors extremist movements and helps people mobilize to respond to bigoted activity in their communities — told RANGE that attending in a group helps everyone stay safer in any type of festival setting.
“It’s always good to use the buddy system,” Bitz said. “Bring friends, be in a group chat with those friends and make sure you’re keeping track of each other.”
She suggested setting a meeting point that everyone can rendezvous at if the group gets separated and a phone gets lost or dies. Bitz also recommended leaving together, and if the group decides to separate, making sure people get safely to their next location. “It just helps if anything’s happening to have your people by you,” she said.
If you do come alone, Pride can be a great place to make friends that you can spend the day with! All the same advice applies for new friends: stay in communication, check in frequently and have each others’ backs.
Tip Number 2: Stay alert and know your emergency contacts.
While organizers say any kind of “high conflict” event is unlikely, it’s still great to be prepared and know who to call.
Spokane Pride is running what they call a “command center.” The number for that command center is 509-593-8523, if you want to save it in your phone in advance. Operators, some of which have professional dispatch experience, are volunteering their time to field calls and direct people to the appropriate resources.
Matthew Danielson, the executive director of Spokane Pride, suggested attendees call that number for anything that is not a crime or an immediate emergency — for example, questions about locations of things, non-emergency first aid needs, event and technical issues or to report suspicious behavior that does not rise to a criminal level.
Knowing what exactly “suspicious behavior” is and how to report it can be tricky. Event organizers told RANGE that you can usually tell when people aren’t there to enjoy the festivities and are planning to disrupt. “You can tell when somebody is there for trouble and you just kind of gotta be aware,” Danielson said.
Some clues that that could be the case may involve displaying visible weapons, wearing all black, tactical gear or symbols for extremist groups and aggressive behavior.
Spectrum Center, a 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy group in Spokane, directed RANGE to a guide they posted on the most efficient way to report suspicious activity — the S.A.L.U.T.E. method. When speaking with dispatchers, it is helpful to frame your report in terms of the size, activity, location, uniform, time and equipment of the group.
An example from their post of efficient reporting language is, “I just saw six men wearing what looked like bulletproof vests, heading east at the corner of Sprague and Washington. They were carrying assault rifles. The time is 1:30 pm.”
If there is an injury or an active emergency situation, always call 911.
In addition to their command center, Danielson said the police officers would be present at the event and Spokane Pride has also hired additional private security.
Tip Number 3: Do not engage.
There may be protestors at the event, but event organizers ask that attendees do not engage with protestors and instead focus on having a good, safe time.
Volunteers from the Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS) will be present at the park in brightly colored vests to help deescalate tense situations. If you witness a situation that could be helped with deescalation, like someone aggressively filming attendees, you can call the command center number and share the location, or flag down a PJALS volunteer if you see them in the crowd.
While it may be tempting to bring personal protection equipment because of increased tensions and threats, Bitz said that can actually make situations more dangerous. “There is no faster way to pepper spray a bunch of people who are on your side than to just pull out your pepper spray in a crowd. Do not do that,” she said.
If you do end up deciding to carry some kind of personal protection device, make sure it is something you feel comfortable and experienced using. “If you have not practiced with whatever it is, do not bring it,” Bitz said. “And if it is against the Pride organizing team’s rules, absolutely do not bring it.”
There is no specific policy shared on the Pride website or event guide, but Danielson stressed that attendees should not engage with protestors or potentially dangerous situations.
Tip Number 4: Take care of yourself!
At any festival or large celebration, it is important to take care of yourself and your basic needs. “You are probably much more likely to get a nasty sunburn or get super dehydrated than to encounter some kind of high conflict situation,” Bitz said.
We’re not your mom, but here’s your classic reminder to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, eat food and, if you’re of age and drinking, do so responsibly: cover your drink, don’t leave it alone and monitor your intake.
Booths at Pride typically offer water bottles and sunscreen, and sometimes other equipment to make your Pride safer, like condoms, dental dams, alcohol and drug test strips and sometimes, even vaccines and STD tests.
This year, Spokane Pride is also focused on meeting attendees’ accessibility needs. They have hubs placed around the park where you can find sensory-friendly spaces, get connected with services and request shuttle rides. More information on the festival’s accessibility services can be found here.
Tip Number 5: Have a good fucking time!
The theme of Pride this year is “Never Gonna Hide,” and we think their promotional materials said it best:
“By being unapologetically ourselves, we pay homage to those who never had the chance. To honor Spokane’s first marchers and all who were forced to hide, we promise to never stop being who we are,” they wrote. “We will never go back. We are Never Gonna Hide.”
It’s important to be prepared, but as Bitz told RANGE, you can also relax and enjoy the festivities.
“If you are going to Pride in the Inland Northwest this year, you can put some trust in the folks who are organizing it because they have done a lot of the work ahead of time to speak with local government and put together trained volunteer teams that do deescalation,” Bitz said. Details on the parade route, the festival map and other information can be found here.
Once you get to Pride, enjoy the experience! There is a whole community of people here who love you for who you are. Stay safe, have fun and celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“Take care of your people,” Bitz said. “Because in the end, that is what’s going to keep us all safe.”
