i

Every summer, Portland comes to life the week of Pride, a time of solidarity and celebration for the city’s vibrant LGBTQIA+ community.

Credit: NashCo Photography

Portland Pride

Portland Pride is a joyful two-day celebration complete with a festival, a parade, a makers’ market, great food and drink, and much more.

Known far and wide as a gay-friendly destination, Portland is open and accepting to visitors of all stripes. The Rose City gets friendlier than ever with the annual Portland Pride Festival and Parade, which accompanies LGBTQIA+ community celebrations all over town.

Portland Pride normally includes a weekend festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park and an epic, joyous parade winding through downtown Portland. With live music, food, drinks, nonprofit information booths and other vendors lining the Willamette River, the festival is a great place to gather, mingle, celebrate gay pride and get more information about local LGBTQIA+ groups.

1 of 3

Credit: Diego Diaz

2 of 3

Credit: NashCo

3 of 3

Credit: Diego Diaz

The Portland Pride Experience in 2025

The Portland Pride Festival

In 2025, the festival will be held in Tom McCall Waterfront Park from noon to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, and from 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 20. It’s the perfect place to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community while enjoying performances from both international stars and local artists.

Performers scheduled for 2025 so far include Landon Cider, Frenchie Davis, Jason Stuart and the band 76th Street. (2024’s headliner was drag icon and two-time “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Jinkx Monsoon.) There’s a $10 suggested donation (though no one will be turned away for being unable to pay!).

The Portland Pride Parade

The Portland Pride Parade will kick off at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 20. The largest parade in Oregon, this awesome annual event brings together tens of thousands of people in the heart of the city. It will start at the North Park Blocks and wind through downtown before ending at the festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Maker’s Market, Food and Drink

Another noteworthy 2025 event is the LGBTQIA2S+ Maker’s Market, which will be held within the festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Celebrate independent artists and makers while perusing photography, painting, jewelry, handmade crafts and more.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite, you’ll find plenty of options for great food and drink from local restaurants and vendors. Even outside the waterfront festival, restaurants, bars and other eateries get in on the fun, so you’re sure to find delicious bites and beverages elsewhere downtown and around the rest of the city.

Accessibility

Portland Pride partners with Friendly Like Me to ensure that the festival is accessible for everyone. You’ll find designated ADA parade viewing areas for people with access needs, two entrances to the festival designed for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids, accessible flooring between the major areas of the festival, ASL interpreters in front of both the main and north stages, accessible transport options for rides to and from Portland Pride, and more. The Portland Pride Accessibility Guide has additional information.

Portland's LGBTQIA+ Community

Celebrate (and learn more about) Portland’s vibrant LGBTQIA+ community.

Go To LGBTQ+

Trans-Friendly Portland

A transgender local’s guide to finding trans and queer community in Portland while soaking up the Rose City culture.

Taqueria Mis Tacones: Cultivating Community and Cashew Cheese

Located in Portland’s Alberta neighborhood, Mis Tacones serves up authentic vegan Mexican food and community support for trans POC visitors and locals.

Mother’s Day in Portland: Gifts for Your Butch Mom

Who’s your mother? Is her best friend more likely to be a dog than a diamond? Are they more partial to innings than earrings? Here are some ideas that’ll make Mothers’ Day happy and gay.

Drag in Portland  

Indulge in Portland’s artful drag scene with local stars like Poison Waters, burlesque dancers like Jayla Rose and acrobatic drag shows all over the city.

LGBTQ+ Nightlife

Portland has no shortage of LGBTQ-owned and queer-friendly bars and clubs. Whether you're looking for a relaxing night with friends, a high-energy dance party or a drag show, Portland delivers.

Portland Pride History

The history of Pride events in Portland begins in the 1970s, with a Gay Pride Fair in the South Park Blocks in 1975 drawing about 200 people; in 1976, the fair moved to Tom McCall Waterfront Park and featured 15 booths. By the early ’80s the celebration had grown substantially, with about 2,000 people participating in the 1982 and 1983 marches.

There have been many other milestones over the years: In 1989, marchers (including the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus) commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Pride Northwest, the organization behind Portland Pride, formed in 1994 (meaning they’ve been uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community in Portland for over 30 years). 2004 saw a day of celebration when same-sex marriage briefly became legal in Multnomah County; celebration continued in 2014, when marriage equality finally became the law in Oregon. (The United States Supreme Court followed suit in 2015.)

Today, Portland Pride brings together tens of thousands of people from Portland and afar. And though many Pride festivals around the country are held in June, Portland likes to do things a little bit differently — ours has been held in July since 2023.

“Dream Big” is Portland Pride’s invitation and theme for 2025. In a social media post announcing this year’s event, the organization invited the community to “see a future with no limits. This aligns with the Portland community being a hub of activism, celebration of artistic expression, and identity.” Make your way downtown and join the dream the weekend of July 19–20, 2025!