‘Look at the celebration’: Pride in Perry brings rainbows and joy to South Hill

Mon., June 29, 2026

By Benedikt Larson benediktl@spokesman.com (509) 459-5416

South Perry’s annual Pride event returned Saturday, with thousands of rainbow-clad people flooding the sidewalks.

Pride in Perry is put on each June by Odyssey Youth Movement, an organization that serves LGBTQ+ youths and young adults through its programs and events.

The event currently involves 44 local vendors and 14 South Perry businesses, but it wasn’t always so big.

“I started Pride in Perry, I think, in 2017, and it was a much smaller evening thing before the big Spokane Pride,” Ian Sullivan, executive director at Odyssey Youth Movement, said. “It was like a couple of restaurants and an open house at Odyssey.”

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the event grew into its current form.

“As we were coming out of COVID restrictions in the early 2020s, we shifted to more of the festival style,” Sullivan said. “We realized we still wanted to celebrate and connect with our community at the end of Pride month, with Spokane Pride being only the second weekend.”

One of the sponsors of Pride in Perry was the neighborhood business organization South Perry Together. Treasurer Jarrod Swanson was at the event, handing out event “passports.”

Swanson said it meant “so much” to be at the celebration.

“It’s just so good to see so many different people, so many diverse people, and just enjoy the place that I love.”

Jancy Noble came to Pride in Perry for the second year because of her daughter.

“I don’t want any kid my daughter’s age to feel like, ‘I have to be hidden and quiet,’ when look at the celebration,” Noble said. “You can be out. You can be proud.”

Noble moved to Spokane from Okanogan, Washington, last year so that her daughter could grow up in a welcoming community, she said.

“I’m glad we picked here, because we’ve had nothing but love and support since we moved here,” Noble said.

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