Pride in the Park returns

By Jennifer Halley, for the Westside Paper

Salem Pride in the Park will return for its 25th year at Salem Riverfront Park on September 19. 

The event, hosted by Salem Capital Pride, a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide opportunities for connection and growth for the LGBTQIA+ community in or around Salem, runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event  will feature hundreds of booths that offer handmade crafts from queer artists; informational opportunities and educational services; a variety of food trucks; a beer garden; a best dressed pet competition; and live all-day entertainment. 

Organization President Mathew Oldfield said that in early August, the organization voted to add  a Queer Mixer and a traveling art exhibit to this year’s event.

The Queer Mixer tent, Oldfield said, “Is based on the popularity of our Quarterly Queer Mixers that are held at For Tomorrow We Die Brewing, in Salem.” The Queer Mixer at Pride in the Park will have several “speed dating” style sessions for those identifying across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. These sessions will be fast paced, have helpful conversation starters, and are for anyone looking for relationships, friends, or connections with other like-minded people.

The second addition to this year’s Pride in the Park event is an Authentic Selves Traveling Art Exhibit. This art exhibit includes nearly 20 photos of nonbinary individuals and their loved ones alongside interviews about their lives. The exhibit is designed to educate, increase visibility, dispel harmful stereotypes, and empower trans people to be their authentic selves. Organizations across the U.S can sign up to host this exhibit for month-long periods for showcasing it to their community before finally sending it off to its next stop. 

“The idea behind it is to increase visibility so people feel seen,” Oldfield said. “Especially in the current political climate we’re in, being seen is really important for people. But part of that, too, is we’re working with local places, like some of the more progressive churches or other nonprofits, to then display the exhibit in our area, since we have it for a month.”

While the vendor application deadline has passed, Oldfield said that they will be accepting volunteer applications up until the day of the event to give people ample opportunity to fill the various roles. 

“Volunteering is a passion of mine, and it’s exciting to see people excited to give back,” Oldfield said. “They show up, and they’re excited. They’re like, ‘I signed up for this, tell me what to do and I’ll do it.’ It makes me feel better knowing that other people want to give back to the community.”

Salem Capital Pride is completely volunteer-led and made up of people who believe in having a safe space for those who may not find it anywhere else. 

“I think we do a phenomenal job of creating an ongoing community,” Oldfield said. “Even in thinking in terms of the events and programs we put on, there are a lot of people that come to those regularly, and that is their social life. They have a safe place they can come to where they don’t have to figure out a schedule or coordinate anything.”

Throughout the year, Salem Capital Pride offers ten regular monthly programs including board game nights, craft meetups, hikes, potlucks, yoga, rock climbing, and more. Sprinkled around these regular programs are the organization’s larger events, such as Queer Prom, which was held at Deepwood Museum and Gardens this year; the Pride Parade and Block Party held in downtown Salem in June; and an annual camping trip in August, with Pride in the Park held in September. 

Since Salem is a smaller city than, say, Portland, Oldfield thinks that helps the community stay personal and easy to engage with. But if going to in-person programs and events isn’t something you’re comfortable with or enjoy, Salem Capital Pride has a Discord Channel you can tune into that offers a plethora of different activities and conversations. 

“It just provides a space where you can find random people that have the same interests and build those connections and relationships,” Oldfield said, “And I think that’s tremendously powerful.”

If you want to get involved with Salem Capital Pride, but aren’t sure where to start, Oldfield says to volunteer at one of the events or show up to the monthly board meetings, which are scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Marion Polk Food Share, or via Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/kst-qntr-zdz. 

Membership is free – all it takes is showing up to three board meetings, and once you’re a member, you can help to plan budgets, give input on important programs and events, and run for leadership positions. 

Another way to get involved is to donate. 

“It's really important for us to be able to pay for the things we do,” Oldfield said. “So even if it's just a small amount every month, that’s excellent, because every dollar adds up.”

For more information on Salem Capital Pride and how to get involved, or to volunteer at Pride in the Park, visit https://salemcapitalpride.org/ for more information.