TRI-CITIES, Wash. —
In January 2023, The Tri-Cities Pride announced its 2023 festival would be canceled. However, Doug White and the Rural Americans United say isn’t going anywhere.
The announcement came after members decided to restructure the board.
After announcing, Carly Coburn, President of Tri-Cities Pride, tells me people began flooding her inbox with questions on how they could help with festivities.
RAU quickly stepped up to take over the planning for this year, something Carly tells me she’s thankful for.
“If you’d like to fill in the space that our normal pride week isn’t going to have.” she says. “So the follow through like saying they want to do something plus the follow through of it from all sorts of folks has been amazing.”
Doug White tells me recent hate towards the LGBTQ+ community motivated him to help out.
“So having the support of all these different organizations and communities backing this community is wonderful.” he says.
And community support it is. Carly added saying so many people began planning the different days and events Tri-Cities Pride usually does for Pride Week.
She tells me Out and About will be having its usual shows during the week. Moonshot Brewing and Tri-City Gaming are hosting another event.
During Pride Week, attendees will also be able to enjoy a bowling night and skating night.
Dates and times for all events have not been announced.
However, Carly says she’s thankful for the endless support she’s gotten and she hopes people will continue to support the LGBTQ+ community in the years to come.
As for Doug White, he tells me the RAU is excited to step up to the plate and lend a helping hand.
In the years to come, he hopes the RAU gets more involved with Tri-Cities Pride, whether that’s having a booth during the festival, joining the board or just helping with the planning.
And speak of the board, Carly says all updates on the board can be found on the Tri-City Pride Facebook Page. There you can submit an application to be a board member.
As of now, the Tri-Cities Pride Festival is scheduled for July 8th. An official date and time have not been announced because of safety concerns.
Carly tells me she’s excited to see how the planning goes and can’t wait to rebuild the board for next year.
