Bonners Ferry’s first Pride event a success
BONNERS FERRY — “We felt seen last night, we felt heard last night, we felt validated, we felt like we mattered, we felt safe last night to just be.”
“I wish we could feel like this all the time, without the side eyes or the dirty looks or the hate directed at us and our allies because we love who we love or dress the way we dress,” Shallan Duke said of Saturday night events of first Bonners Ferry Pride, held June 21-23.
Organizers said the community’s first LGBTQ+ Pride event went off without a hitch. Around 130 attendees took part in the three-day event.
The first night, Friday, June 21, featured speeches and a dance party.
Saturday had live music, poetry reading, an age-appropriate drag show for the family friendly event, and vendor and advocacy booths were available. Saturday night featured an adult-only drag show and dance party.
Sunday, the final day of the event, featured a movie marathon.
Almost 20 volunteers — almost all of them locals — were present as security team, ticket taking, pride merch, and serving food from the cafe. And almost 20 more performers volunteered their time and talent to this event.
The organizing committee consisted of Alan Tozier, who initiated the search for a venue and organizers, Bobby Wire-Roberson, who organized the entertainment and security while his husband, Phillip Wire-Roberson worked as head of security during the event, McCallum Morgan, who is also the program director at the Pearl Theater.
The building that was rented for the event, with help from Jessica Tingley, Matthew Danielson, who was also the DJ and ran sound for the event, and many many others who brought ideas, decorations, and dedication to this event.
Speeches for the opening ceremony were given by Miss Gay Idaho United States at Large, Crystll Blu, a drag queen from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and McCallum Morgan.
A dance party followed. Even a couple from across the street, where about 15 protestors stood with signs, came in and were spotted dancing with everyone else.
More dancing came the following day as the bands Cast and Crew, from Sandpoint, and then Redlight Greenlight, from Metaline Falls, Wash., rocked the house.
Poems were read by locals Lee Colson and McCallum Morgan. Morgan also performed in the family friendly drag show alongside professional queens from Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Pocatello. Later that night, the 18 and older party started with another drag show
The thread that seemed to connect the speeches, music, and poetry was acceptance for everyone and taking care of each other. Some of the local queer people said they did not feel safe showing up to the event, but their family and friends showed up on their behalf, saying it was important to them that their queer family and friends could be accepted as they are in their hometown. And many allies showed up for the same reasons.
The protestors remained mostly respectful and engaged in polite dialog with some of the security volunteers.
“Saturday night, it was like I was a different person…no, strike that. I was me, really and truly me,” says 13th generation local, Cassandra Easley, “I may be a ‘straight, mostly white woman,’ but I want to feel safe in my own skin, too…and to be perfectly honest, I don’t love my husband because he’s a man, I love him because of his soul.”
“It always makes my heart swell when I get to see people comfortably expressing who they are without fear of judgment,” said Cory Repass of Sandpoint, who attended Saturday’s daytime event.
“Despite what the rumor mill was saying, our Pride event wasn’t about ‘adult activities.’” Hanna Ritz said, adding a slight cough to emphasize the last two words. “It’s about the fact that there are so many people who survived a world not ‘designed’ for everyone, and I think that extends beyond sexuality and gender.”
“The Bonners Ferry Pride celebration was a profound gift to their entire community. The impact was especially important for the people who are LGBTQIA+ and their loved ones. To be seen, to be heard, and to be appreciated is a gift that offers a deep and everlasting hope,” Jeff Wickham, president of PFLAG Coeur d’Alene/Kootenai County, said.
“I think the event went spectacularly: there were so many people full of love and acceptance for every LGBTQIA+ community member that was there…This was a valiant effort on every volunteer's part. This event, to me, meant everything, it meant that we are progressing, we are evolving, we will not be silent. Love is Love,” said Bobby Wire-Roberson, executive director and community outreach organizer of Bonners Ferry Pride.
In his speech Friday night, McCallum Morgan said he grew up in the community.
“It was a matrix of homophobia. I internalized so much of it that it took me until my early twenties to even come out to myself. How many of us grew up alone like that? Here, and in every town across America — across the world. No one should have to grow up like that. They’re afraid of change. But we are change. And we are already here.”
Bonners Ferry Pride 2024