Eugene PRIDE prepares for largest festival in its 30-year history
4 min read
from Pride Day Equality Project and staff reports
The 2024 Eugene Pride Festival, to be held Saturday, Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., will be the largest in its 30-year history.
Event organizers are reminding attendees: Please do not attempt to drive into Alton Baker Park.
Brooks McLain, board president of Pride Day Equality Project, the nonprofit that produces Eugene Pride, explains that most parking was reserved for the sold-out—and subsequently cancelled—Ween concert at Cuthbert Amphitheater, also scheduled Aug. 10.
Brooks said Kesey Enterprises is retaining traffic and parking control for the entire day.
“Despite our challenges this year around parking and access to the park, we are excited for what we expect to be a joyous day of celebrating our community at our largest festival yet,” Brooks said. “We are pleased to offer more entertainment, more food offerings, and more resources for Eugene and Springfield’s LGBTQ+ community.”
The festival has secured enough parking to ensure that attendees with disabilities will be able to park on-site. Limited parking for four-plus carpools will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Shuttles will be provided, as due to the scheduled event at the Cuthbert, no other public parking will be offered at Alton Baker Park.
Shuttles depart from the East Autzen parking lot, Lane County’s Serbu campus, and Valley River Center as well as from 4J headquarters, the Parcade, and Overpark downtown. The shuttles were arranged by the festival with support from the Spectrum Queer Bar, My Party Bus, the city of Eugene, and ODOT.
Parking is also available at the new City Hall and the Steam Plant, and you are strongly encouraged to park on the side of the river where you reside or are traveling from.
LTD is providing a code that will be posted on the event’s website so that attendees can ride the bus free to Pride. Free bike valet will be offered as well.
All transportation options, including a map, can be viewed on Eugene Pride’s website.
For 30 years, Eugene Pride has been an annual tradition for our area’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other LGBTQ+ community, and it has been the only consistent cultural tradition of the queer, trans, and gender diverse community during that time.
Over the past several years, the festival has grown to include close to 300 sponsors and vendors with booths. This year’s festival will showcase 153 drag queens, musicians, comedians, dancers, poets, and other artists who express themselves on our two stages to a crowd of over 12,000 people.
A schedule for each stage can be found on Eugene Pride’s website.
Eugene Pride is an all-volunteer led and run 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This is the work of P.R.I.D.E. – Promoting Respect in Diverse Expression for arts and culture in the LGBTQ+ community.
- The Sober Circle will be back this year, where queers and trans folks in recovery can still be in community while maintaining their sobriety and building a network of support year-round.
- An Interfaith Area offers an opportunity for faith organizations to work to undo centuries of trauma inflicted on our communities.
- A Youth Zone offers the chance for LGBTQ+ parents to meet each other and for queer, trans, and gender diverse youth to express themselves through art, activities, and fun.
- A large clothing swap
- Free, gender-diverse haircuts will be offered so that people can feel comfortable in their bodies
- The Veteran’s Village will return this year, as well, where community-members who served our country can navigate various resources that are available to them.
More than 100 nonprofits will raise awareness around their services and connect the LGBTQ+ community to jobs, resources, and support. Other festival offerings include free, rapid HIV testing, a medical tent staffed with doctors and nurses who are volunteering their time, an expanded food court, beer garden, sensory zone, and community art project.
“We are thrilled to be back at Pride in the Park this year as a returning sponsor of Eugene Pride,” said Kara Campbell, local McDonald’s owner and operator in the Eugene-Springfield area. “Our local McDonald’s managers and crew members are proud allies, which is why we are excited to support this year’s festival by creating more golden moments for attendees and celebrating with our LGBTQIA+ community.”
No other venue/organization in Eugene offers so much to the LGBTQ+ community in a single day.
A $5 suggested donation is encouraged for festival attendees; however, no one will be turned away.
UPDATE (Aug. 7, 2024): Add statement by Brooks McLain that parking arrangements are unchanged despite Ween cancelling its Eugene appearance.
