June is Pride Month, but did you know that Washington’s LGB community traces its presence back more than a century in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle hosted its first documented drag performance in 1898, and by the 1930s the city had established venues such as the Casino Pool Hall and the Double Header, both in Pioneer Square and believed to be among the nation’s oldest continuously operating gay bars. Lesbian bars appeared in Seattle in the 1950s, followed by a surge in gay bars during the 1960s. The Dorian Society, the state’s first known gay organization, formed in Seattle in 1967.
Seattle passed employment and housing nondiscrimination protections for homosexuals in 1973 and 1975, respectively. The state repealed its sodomy law in 1976. In 1978, a landmark Washington Supreme Court ruling allowed two lesbian mothers to retain custody of their children — the first such victory in the United States. The 1980s brought the AIDS crisis and a robust community response, including the founding of the Northwest AIDS Foundation and the election of Cal Anderson in 1987 as the first openly gay member of the Washington Legislature.
Sherry Harris became the first openly lesbian African American elected to public office in the country when she won a Seattle City Council seat in 1991. Domestic partnerships for same-sex couples became law in 2007. Voters approved same-sex marriage through Referendum 74 in 2012. Seattle elected its first openly gay mayor, Ed Murray, in 2013 and the state created the LGBTQ Commission in 2019.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, Sen. Marko Liias and Pierce County Council Chair Ryan Mello are among the openly LGBTQ elected officials shaping policy. Pedersen, who helped lead the fight for marriage equality before entering the Legislature, now holds the top Democratic post in the Senate — part of a historic pairing with Jinkins that made Washington the first state to have two LGBTQ legislative leaders simultaneously. Liias has focused on protections for LGBTQ youth, including measures to expand access to gender-affirming care and ban conversion therapy.
Courtesy of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission below is a list of pride events happening across Washington state this summer offering residents a one-stop guide to parades, festivals, workshops and community gatherings.
Monday June 1 – Sunday June 7:
- June 1: South Whidbey Pride Flag Raising Ceremony, Langley [LINK]
- June 2: Federal Way City Hall Pride Flag Raising, Federal Way [LINK]
- June 3: Washington State Pride Flag Raising, Olympia [LINK]
- June 4: City of Maple Valley Pride in the Park, Maple Valley [LINK]
- June 5-7: Burien Pride 3-Day Celebration, Burien [LINK]
- June 6: 7th Annual White Center Pride Street Festival, White Center [LINK]
- June 6: 2026 Pullman Pride, Pullman [LINK]
- June 6: Snohomish Pride Parade & Pride Market, Snohomish [LINK]
- June 6: 2026 Kittitas County Pride Parade, Ellensburg [LINK]
- June 6: Seattle Pride in the Park 2026, Seattle [LINK]
- June 6: Port Townsend Pride 2026, Port Townsend [LINK]
- June 6: 6th Annual Walla Walla Pride Festival – Stronger Together, Walla Walla [LINK]
- June 6: Woodinville Pride, Woodinville [LINK]
- June 6: 5th Annual Chelan Pride Festival, Chelan [LINK]
- June 6: Stanwood-Camano Pride Parade and Party in the Park 2026, Camano [LINK]
- June 6: Lynnwood City Pride, Lynnwood [LINK]
- June 7: Taking Pride in Capitol Hill, Seattle [LINK]
- June 7: Lake Stevens Pride, Lake Stevens [LINK]
- June 7: Clark County Pride’s 6th Annual Rainbow Walk & Pride Festival, La Center [LINK]
- June 7: Snovalley Pride 4th Annual Pride Picnic [LINK]
- June 7: Kitsap Picnic with Pride, Port Orchard [LINK]
Monday June 8 – Sunday June 14:
- June 11-14: Orcas Island Pride Weekend, Orcas Island [LINK]
- June 12-14: Spokane Pride Parade & Festival, Spokane [LINK]
- June 13: 2nd Annual Marysville PrideFest, Marysville [LINK]
- June 13: Vancouver’s Pride Block Party, Vancouver [LINK]
- June 13-14: Skamania Pride, Skamania [LINK]
- June 13-14: Snohomish Community Picnic and Drag Events, Snohomish [LINK]
- June 14: 2026 Tri-Cities Pride Festival, Pasco [LINK]
June 15 – June 21:
- June 20: Queers in Wonderland Pride Party, San Juan Island [LINK]
- June 20: Seattle Frontrunners Run & Walk with Pride, Seattle [LINK]
- June 20: Yakima Pride Festival & Parade, Yakima [LINK]
- June 20: Wenatchee Pride Fest 2026, Wenatchee [LINK]
- June 20: Everett Pride Block Party, Everett [LINK]
- June 20: 2026 Pride Parade & Festival, Langley [LINK]
- June 20: Bainbridge Pride Festival, Bainbridge Island [LINK]
June 22 – June 28:
- June 26-28: Capital City Pride Festival, Olympia [LINK]
- June 26: City of Lacey Pride Night, Lacey [LINK]
- June 26: Trans Pride Seattle, Seattle [LINK]
- June 27: Pride in Perry, Spokane [LINK]
- June 27: Sequim Pride, Sequim [LINK]
- June 27-28: PrideFest, Seattle [LINK]
- June 27: 2026 Mill Creek Pride Picnic, Mill Creek [LINK]
- June 27: Edmonds Pride Fest, Edmonds [LINK]
- June 28: Seattle Pride Parade, Seattle [LINK]
July 6 – July 12:
- July 11: Tacoma Pride Festival, Tacoma [LINK]
- July 11: Southwest Washington Pride Alliance Saturday in the Park, Vancouver [LINK]
- July 11-12: Pride in Bellingham, Bellingham [LINK]
July 13 – July 19:
July 20 – July 26:
July 27 – August 2:
- August 1: Battle Ground Pride, Battle Ground [LINK]
August 10 – August 16:
- August 15: 11th Annual Alki Beach Pride, Seattle [LINK]
August 17 – August 23:
- August 20-23: Pacific Northwest Black Pride Weekend, Seattle [LINK]
August 24 – August 30:
- August 29: Palouse Pride 2026, Moscow ID [LINK]
August 31 – September 6:
- September 6: Pride Across the Bridge 2026, Kirkland [LINK]
Author: Mario Lotmore
