Chief Kathleen O’Toole at the 2015 Capitol Hill Pride Festival (Image: CHS)
After the weekend’s deadly shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando, some Capitol Hill business owners say they are fine with the city’s decision to not grant a permit to extend the Capitol Hill Pride Festival to a second day on Pride Sunday.
Organizers were hoping to extend the annual festival that got its grassroots start in 2009 to last all weekend. Organizers say last year the event drew more than 35,000 to Broadway to celebrate Pride, enjoy performances and a doggie drag show, ride ponies, and visit restaurants and bars for food and drink. The proposed expansion would have the downtown parade and the Broadway festival happening simultaneously. Even before heightened security became an issue because of the Orlando shooting, city officials denied the permit for Sunday because SPD did not have the resources to adequately cover the event.
Capitol Hill Pride Festival denied permit for Sunday expansion of Broadway street fair
Festival organizers have continued to contest the decision and held a meeting on Tuesday attended by representatives of businesses involved in the festival, City Hall and Seattle Police Department representatives, and members of the press.
“We knew we needed to increase security for our events this month,” said Office of Economic Development spokesperson Joe Mirabella. “We are maxed out. We need all our security downtown.”
Spokesperson Sean Whitcomb, the only SPD representative at the meeting, agreed. “This is already an all-hands-on-deck event for us,” he said. Whitcomb said that the permit was denied because there are simply not enough officers to properly staff another day of the festival, and the city has already approved nine other events on Capitol Hill during Pride Weekend that will need to be staffed by officers.
According to Whitcomb the security plans for all events, including the Capitol Hill Pride Festival, are being reviewed. “Everything is being upstaffed,” he said.
You can view the CHS Capitol Hill Pride calendar here.
Business owners were understanding. “In light of what happened in Orlando, we are not interested in doing Sunday,” said one business owner attending the meeting. “We don’t want to draw police resources from downtown.”
Carl Medeiros, owner of Panache Clothing on Broadway, agreed. “I was originally for a second day of the festival, but this is not the right time,” he said. “I don’t want to see our police officers thinned out.”
Medeiros did say he would like to work with the city to see if another event was possible for next year as a more low-key, more family-friendly alternative to some of the 21 and over Pride celebrations such as the three beer gardens around the city.
Mirabella was encouraging about the possibility of extending the festival next year. “We’re not trying to do something to you,” he said to the organizers and business owners. “Let’s look towards doing something next year.”
In the meantime, organizers say the are looking at continuing the event on Sunday as a “sidewalk festival” this year, a move they say the city has given its OK on.
Police at Pride have NEVER made us safer. Orlando PD is now admitting that their officers probably shot some of the victims: https://twitter.com/aut_omnia/status/743106944009932800
I think I’d wait for the ballistics report now that the autopsies are done before making accusations.
Do you mean to tell me that in a shootout with a psychopath bearing assault weapons in a dark space, late at night, full of terrified people, many of whom had been drinking, that some people were killed by “friendly fire”?
You’re right. The police should never have gotten involved. I’m sure the situation would have worked itself out just fine otherwise.
This was never about “needing” another day of Capitol Hill Pride Festival. This is the continuation of a years-long, petty squabble between the people who knew the parade had outgrown Capitol Hill and needed space to grow; and people who resisted moving it for self-interested reasons. Just LET IT GO already. We don’t need “dueling” Pride events. Does everything in Seattle need to be this way– where if you don’t get your way, you just keep it up, and keep it up, and keep it up? Let it go. Damn.
Well-said, Jim! Those who want to extend this festival to Sunday are not attempting it in order to foster community…..in fact it’s the opposite, as it would compete with the main parade downtown….but, simply put, it’s all about the money,
“to celebrate Pride, enjoy performances and a doggie drag show, ride ponies…”
Great, so now we miss out on a dog and pony show, damn it.
Not sure about the ponies, but the doggie drag show is scheduled for Saturday at noon.
Outlier event occurs and fear takes over. Same sad story.