BOISE, Idaho — This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Pride Month may be nationally recognized in June, but festivities in Boise are just getting started.
The 35th anniversary of Idaho’s largest Pride festival is slated for Sept. 13-15 at Cecil D. Andrus Park, with another record-setting year for vendors and parade entrants.
Attendees may notice this year’s festival layout is a little different.
The main stage will abut Sixth Street, instead of Capitol Boulevard, which should open up the line of sight after a number of trees in the park got too tall and were obstructing people’s views, Boise Pride Festival Executive Director Donald Williamson said.
“For the money that’s being spent on the talent for the community, we want the talent to be seen,” Williamson said.
The free festival will showcase high-profile performers such as the alternative pop band The Aces, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” finalist Adore Delano and Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter Daya. There’s also a slate of local performers, including Boise native Joshua Emara.
The 20-year-old musician and dancer will take the stage at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 and again at 9 p.m. that night. This will be his fifth year performing at Pride.
“The community and the energy, it’s always just an inviting crowd,” Emara said of Boise’s festival. “I always feel completely at home and completely safe, and I can share whatever emotion I feel like sharing that year.”
Emara got his start playing the violin and dancing at the Boise Farmers Market every weekend when he was 12 and 13, gaining a following in the process. As a 13-year-old, he was approached about performing at Pride for the first time.
He remembers he wore a jean jacket.
“It was awful and amazing, and such a great experience,” Emara said of his first show at the festival.
He came from a musical family, from his grandmother — who in her 90s is still performing organ recitals — to his mother and aunts, all of whom played the violin. He picked up the instrument at a young age and then gained inspiration to incorporate his love of dance when he saw the popular violinist and dancer Lindsey Stirling.
“I saw her doing that, and it was like the best of both worlds, like everything I loved in one,” he said.
Emara has grown his repertoire to include some solo dance performances and singing original songs. He has two original songs planned for his Pride performance this year.
Other local performers include pop-rock duo Red Light Challenge, the fire and LED troupe Sudaa’ Nar Fire Tribe, and Humpin’ Hannah’s staple The Rocci Johnson Band.
Boise’s festival has continued to grow rapidly every year, especially in the last few, Williamson said.
The number of vendors attending and parade entrants have broken records for three straight years, he said. There will be 163 booths in the park and more than 120 parade entries.
The parade is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, starting at Ninth and Jefferson streets.
Festival organizers have opted to keep the event in September, after first pushing it back from June in 2021 because of the pandemic. The new date provided an opportunity to attract bigger talent without having to compete with other Pride events, had better weather, and most importantly, Williamson said, it provided a reminder that it’s not something that is acknowledged just one month out of the year.
“It’s something that should be celebrated throughout the year,” he said.
The event can be especially meaningful in a place like Idaho, where the state Legislature has passed a number of bills targeting the LGTBQ community, he said.
“It’s important to know that, through all that, this community still sticks together, and we’re still proud of who we are,” Williamson said.
This year’s theme, which was selected from community submissions, is “proud of who we are.”
“It’s important for this community to know that they’re seen and that they’re heard and they’re supported,” Williamson said.
Before Emara was a Pride performer, he was an attendee. He counted himself lucky that he grew up in a home where his parents allowed him to go at a young age.
“At that age, it’s really about finding yourself and wanting to find community … and obviously, as a gay person, it’s hard to do that,” Emara said. “But being able to, not only know that community exists in an online atmosphere, but being in-person and with people who are just like you is, at that age, so necessary.”
Now, Emara is one of those examples for young Idahoans.
“I’m just doing right by my younger self by becoming that thing that I so desperately needed to look up to,” he said. “... this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
The festival opens 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13 and closes at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15. For more information, a map and full festival schedule, visit BoisePrideFest.org.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
FULL PRIDE SCHEDULE:
Saturday, September 14
11:00 AM - Festival Opens
11:00 AM - Pride Rally
12:00 PM - FUSE Dance Collaboration
12:15 PM - Starbelly Dance
12:45 PM - Pride Variety Pop-Up
1:00 PM - Spencer Sanders
2:00 PM - The Rocci Johnson Band
2:45 PM - Viva Mi Gente with Coco Freeo
3:30 PM - Hometown Drag Spectacular presented by Citi
5:00 PM - Sapphira Cristál
5:30 PM - Femme Von Follies
6:30 PM - Morgxn
7:45 PM - Carlie Hanson
9:00 PM - Joshua Emara
9:15 PM - Daya
10:00 PM - Festival Closes
Sunday, September 15
9:00 AM - The Fred Meyer Pride Parade
11:00 AM - Festival Opens
11:00 AM - Treasure Valley Pound Posse
11:30 AM - Rainbow Reading Time
12:00 PM - Get Up and Dance with Corevette Collective
12:45 PM - Pet Pride Show presented by WestVet
1:15 PM - Sudaa’ Nar Fire Tribe
1:45 PM - Mungo
2:30 PM - Hometown Drag Spectacular The Sequel presented by Citi
4:00 PM - Adore Delano
4:30 PM - Akashic Moves Bellydance
5:00 PM - Festival Closes
All Festival performances take place at Cecil D. Andrus Park, 601 W. Jefferson St.
The Boise Pride Festival is FREE for all to attend. A suggested $5 donation per day is requested at the festival entrance if you are in the position to give.
All Festival schedule times are subject to change.