Best of Portland Pride: Oregon’s Rainbow Celebration

Since June 2022, Portland Pride, with its Waterfront Festival and the Pride Parade, is back in Portland, Oregon. We have been in Portland during Pride festivities and the demonstration and were able to capture the best of Portland Pride 2019 with photos and videos of the LGBTQ+ Rainbow Celebration in Portland, Oregon. Bearded men, a hipster community, great coffee, and local beer breweries – Portland in Oregon was already, for many years, on our gay travel bucket list for the USA. In 2019, we could finally visit the green US-American state on the Pacific coast, finding exactly what we were looking for. And so much more since we attended Portland Pride, the colorful and diverse rainbow celebration in June, the official Pride month in the United States of America. Enjoy our best photos plus video of Portland Pride and see the rainbow celebration in the US-American North-West through a Couple of Men‘s eyes.

– in paid collaboration with Tourism Portland –

Best of Portland Pride in Oregon 2019

Colorful, welcoming, and diverse – That is how we experienced the Pride Festival in Portland, Oregon in 2019. After the colorful pride parade where everyone was welcome to join along the route, the rainbow crowd arrived at the Waterfront of Willamette River to celebrate one of the largest donation-based pride festivals on the West Coast, even in the country. The LGBTQ+ organization behind Portland Pride is called Pride Northwest, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon. Already since the Mid-70s, gays, lesbians, trans, and queer people have walked side by side for equality, love, and respect. Let us show you some of the best photos we could take. And don’t forget to watch the video by Matthew and Michael of their first-ever pride parade together (and, of course, we are joining them!).

Portland Trans Pride March

“Transform, transcend, transgress the (cis)tem!”

The day before the Portland Pride Parade on Sunday, the Greater Portland Trans Unity organized the 2019 edition of the Portland Trans Pride March. Taking the same route and ending at the Waterfront like the Portland Pride the day later, this event was one of the most colorful and diverse LGBTQ+ events we have ever attended. It was truly remarkable to see and meet so many proud and young trans, non-binary, intersex, and two-spirit people enjoying the summer event at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

“This year, on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we are called to celebrate, and we will do that. But we are also grieving. We are called to march, and we will do that. But we are also organizing. We hope you will join us in honoring our trans and queer legacy this way: by continuing the fight that has never ended, for the revolution we still desperately need–for now and for our future generations.” – Greater Portland Trans Unity and the 2019 Portland Trans Pride March Organizing Committee, June 2019.

Proud & Free: Over 40 years of Pride in Portland!

From the mid-1970s until today, Portland Pride and the Waterfront Festival take place in early summer, in recent years during the Pride month of June. This year the parade started in the North Park Blocks area at around 11 am. The colorful queer people from all around the world made their way through Northwest Portland and along SW Naito Parkway and ended at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon.

Diverse, feisty, and full of Love

But how many people actually participated? Well, official numbers expected approximately 8,000 people of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies to walk in the parade and as many as 45,000 spectators line the 1.1-mile route. Other media are talking about much higher numbers. Let’s write it like this: It was busy, loud, and peaceful. And we enjoyed every minute of it!

Portland Pride Waterfront Festival

We mentioned the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival now already a few times. So, we feel like we should introduce you to this LGBTQ+ event as well! Tom McCall Waterfront Park is located right by the lake shore of the Willamette River in the center of Portland. During the event, a dozen of tents of organizations and small shops gather around the main stage, where the known artists and newcomer drag queens give their very best to impress the enthusiastic crowd.

We were so happy to finally meet the @thegaybeards, our beard buddies in crime. But we also run into Don and his new boyfriend. We almost had to cry about their lovely story together. Because Don came out of the closet at the age of 80, meeting the man of his life just two years ago. Have a look at our Instagram Story Highlight of Portland for some fun Pride shots as well!

Interesting Posts for your Gay Travels:

• Read all about our Gay Pride Trips around the world >
• All about our Gay Travels around the world as openly Gay Couple >
• Reviews of Hotels around the world: Gay-friendly tested Hotels >
• Traveling to the USA? Check our Gay Travel Guide for USA >
• LGBTQ+ Celebrations in the USA: Gay Pride in Chicago >
• LGBTQ+ Celebrations in the USA: Gay Pride in Los Angeles >

Please note: This trip was made possible in close collaboration with Travel Portland and Travel Oregon. A special thanks for the tips and support goes to our wonderful readers, followers, new and old friends from all over the world. Nevertheless, our photos, our videos, our opinions, and our writings are our own, as always.