It's the very special 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, when Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, two transgender women of color, said enough is enough and sparked our LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Let’s be visible!
For the fourth year in a row, our WEA contingent will be standing up for our public schools and union to be safe, welcoming and affirming for all students and educators! We celebrate how far we've come and we march because we still have a ways to go. We'll be visible public education and civil rights advocates for 400,000 of our neighbors to see!
Official Staging Time: between 10:30am-11am
Meeting Location: On 4th Ave, between Spring and Seneca.
Contingent Number: 62
Contingent Name: Washington Education Association
Shirt color: look for us in light blue!
Driving? Here's an approximate location for your navigation: 1101 4th Ave Seattle, 98101.
Where do we march? The parade will last about 2.5 hours, walking down 4th ending at Second Avenue and Denny Way near Seattle Center, aka the Space Needle (route map below). At the end, we'll quickly gather the signs, and take a group photo. Then on their own, folks able to either walk back a couple blocks and watch the rest of the parade (there will be a lot of it since we’re near the front), head into the Pride Fest (booths, concerts, vendors, food, beer gardens etc), or whatever else!
But when do we actually start marching? As we know from previous years, we will have to be very patient during staging, especially since there are over 250 groups! While the official parade starts at 11am, we are #62, so we will be waiting in our staging spot for longer than that. The official Seattle Pride Volunteers (in purple shirts) will move us up and we will walk a couple blocks to the start of the pride route. If you have small kids, and others who need extra care while waiting, we would recommend coming to our staging location right close to 11am.
Transit Options: University Street is the closest Light Rail station, approx. 1.5 blocks away from our staging location
Parking options: There are several lots nearby. You may get lucky and find street parking, which is free since it's Sunday. Please keep in mind that 4th Ave is blocked off for the parade. Another idea is to park closer to the end of the parade route in the morning, near Seattle Center, and then walk or rideshare to our meeting spot. You can always come early, do breakfast, and come meet after that.
It'll be HOT! At 78 degrees with little shade, be ready to rock sunscreen, water, and comfy shoes. If you get hangry, bring a granola bar! Consider bringing your portable phone charger so you can capture all the festivities. Also- it’s too hot for dogs.
When you arrive: We have a sign with each local's name on it and we'd love if you brought any other signs too! We delegate small tasks like sharing stickers and sunscreen, and all take care of each other. It's very fun to meet our fellow WEA fam, and other non-profit groups around us. Shannon will be onsite at 9:30am to hold our space.
Since you'll get a very cool WEA Pride contingent shirt, you may want to wear a something light to put your new shirt on top of, or a backpack for the shirt you arrived in. Please realize there is no contingent car or place to store your items.
We recommend bringing a credit card and some cash in case you want to partake in the Pride Festival in Seattle Center after that has many booths with food and other items. This is why fanny-packs make sense :)
Tent: We include everyone, and we have a tent on the parade route for participants who prefer to sit in the tent instead of walking the parade route. This is near the end of the parade route, closer to Seattle Center. Tent location: approx: 2504 4th Ave Seattle, WA 98121 (In front of Uptown Espresso, near Wall and 4th. It’s a red tent. Amber will be there as the tent captain beginning at 10:30am. She’ll have the shirts. Please bring a chair if you need more than the curb to sit on.)
Summary of Pro Tips:
- come early to find parking, possibly park closer to the Seattle center and walk back to our staging spot
- comfy shoes will.save.you!
- bring water
- SUNSCREEN!
- it’s important to meet each other!
- bring a snack if you get hangry
- being a portable cell phone charger and cord
- a bit of cash and credit card for the food vendors, parking etc. can go a long way
- if you see a porta-potty along the route with no line, consider it!
- we welcome you to bring signs, stickers, bubbles, pencils, high fives etc!
Check out
seattlepride.org for other info too!
Shannon McCann and Joe Bento
WEA LGBTQ Caucus Co-Chairs
smccann@washingtonea.orgFollow us on Facebook: WEA LGBTQ Caucus
