POCATELLO — The date has been set for Gate City Pride, featuring new organizers and a fresh take on the event that will include live music from local bands and a catered focus on an inclusive space for all ages.

From 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 29 at Lookout Point, the public is invited to enjoy an afternoon of celebration, reflection, community and fun where everyone can fully express themselves in a loving and accepting space.

In the two days leading up to the event one of the event sponsors, The College Market, will be hosting a queer art night on Thursday, June 27, that includes poetry, drag performances and art from queer artists.

The following day on Friday, June 28, another sponsor, Dude’s Public Market, will be organizing a paint night. Participants will paint a cat wearing a bow tie and holding a flag and patrons are encouraged to color them with their specific pride colors. All proceeds from the evening will go to help fund Gate City Pride, with any excess to be used to organize next year’s event.

Part of the new structure of the pride event will be its catering to all ages. Organizers Angela Hollingsworth and Jay Hurley wanted to create a pride event that anyone could attend and enjoy without age restrictions.

“It’s an all age, strictly PG event,” Hollingsworth said. “We made an active effort to include as many free, fun activities and booths that are just for little kids. There are some (activities) that are specifically for teenaged kids. Then there’s some that are specifically for adults, including a judgment-free questions booth.”

The questions booth will be a place where anyone, LGBTQ+ or otherwise, can ask their questions to informed adults. Navigating the queer community can be daunting for some and the booth will be there to help facilitate discussion, bridge gaps and be a helpful educational experience for all.

“That (booth) has been very popular to everyone that we’ve been talking to because a lot of how we put (our pride) together was to combine things that people had always hoped to see at prides,” Hollingsworth said. “We always ended every conversation with ‘What is your pride wish list item?’ Then we just tried to do as many of those as possible. There’s a lot of creative ideas in it.”

While there will be a few vendor style booths, this year’s pride has a renewed focus on non-profit organizations such as Rainbow Circle Idaho, The Closet, Trans Affirm and countless others that provide resources for queer individuals or anyone seeking support.

“We have (around) 32 nonprofit booths because we have a very strong focus on mental health, physical health and community building resources,” Hollingsworth said. “We have been talking to the nonprofit community to find out who needed to be there and what resources people needed. We wanted to make sure that those places were (at pride) before we opened it up to other sorts of booths.”

Entertainment was also at the forefront of the organizer’s minds, inviting a few popular Pocatello bands like LOOT and Jelly to perform at the event along with a pair of burgeoning young solo acts who will also contribute. In keeping with the inclusive nature of Gate City Pride, an American Sign Language interrupter will also be in attendance all day.

Drag performances will still be on the docket but will be more age appropriate for general audiences. Amelia Blayke, a drag queen from Twin Falls, will be performing in addition to drag king troupe 4 of a Kind. A children’s magician will also take the stage at some point during the festivities.

“This year we have multiple local bands, some of whom have direct connections to the LGBTQ+ community itself, all of whom are supportive of pride,” Hollingsworth said. “We’re very, very excited that not a single person, not a single entertainer that we asked — without knowing anything about if they’d get paid or not — not a single one said no, they all said yes, right away.”

For anyone interested in some tasty cuisine BRAISE-ZEN, Lemon Smashers and Spencer Williams’ We Got This will be on site to satiate any appetites.

The expectation for the event is that it should run without any issues but for anyone looking to make trouble, Trident Security will be at Lookout Point to ensure a safe environment. Safety is at the forefront of the organizers’ minds and Trident has expertise in running security for pride events. Last year’s Pocatello Umbrellas will also be around for extra eyes and ears.

This year’s Gate City Pride would not be possible without the help of the many sponsors, other organizers and the support they give to make the event memorable and fun. Stephanie Palagi with Historic Downtown Pocatello Inc., the organizers of Idaho Falls Pride, Pocatello Greenhouse, Station Square, 5th Street Bagelry and countless others all helped contribute through a variety of ways to keep this event going.

Events like pride are essential for creating spaces where queer individuals can be themselves, be comfortable and have a lot of fun with friends, family and loved ones.

“I think it’s important to specifically have a publicly (accessible) all-age pride event,” Hollingsworth said. “Otherwise there’s not a ton of options for young people that can’t go to a bar yet to gather in a space where they know they’re supported and where they know that they’re seen and accepted as exactly who they are.”

Hurley echoed many of those sentiments.

“I think it’s really important to have representation and visibility even if it’s just for one day of the year in our community and know that we have each other,” Hurley said. “I think the way that pride has come together this year, has really communicated to the queer community that we want to hear you. We want to hear what you want out of your pride and we want to make it happen. This is for us.”