The Capitol Hill Pride Festival might be a bit shorter than planned this year.
Event organizers Charlette LeFevre and Phillip Lipson announced in mid-March that they would be adding a second day of festivities to their event, which is scheduled for June 25 to June 26. But, according to LeFevre and Lipson, despite submitting permit applications in February, the Seattle Office of Film + Music + Special Events waited until May 13 to tell them that their request had been denied, the Capitol Hill Times reported.
According to the special events committee’s chairman, Chris Swenson, Seattle police officers would be spread too thin because they will be covering Seattle PrideFest in downtown and wouldn’t have enough resources to cover both events. Additionally, the committee denied Capitol Pride Festival’s request to close off Broadway and East Roy Street, citing concerns about access to public transit.
LeFevre said she made her case to the Seattle Special Events Committee several years ago that there is an underlying civil rights cause for the festival and that there should be no barriers to people assembling for it, even for more than a day. She added many events, such as the Capitol Hill Block Party, are allotted more than a day.
Because of this, LeFevre told the CHT that she feels as though the events office is playing favorites with Seattle Pride and that the Capitol Hill LGBTQ+ community is being denied the visibility it needs.
According to CHT, Lefevre said the city events office reached out to her and Lipson last week to offer them a meeting with Swenson to discuss the extending the festival.
Even if they are barred from celebrating a second day, Capitol Hill Pride Festival will “go forward with Sunday. Authorized or not,” LeFevre and Lispon later wrote in an e-mail to the Stranger on Monday.
