May 29, 2026

Pride Month at the UW and Beyond

Celebrate Pride Month 

June is Pride Month, celebrated in recognition of the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which was among the key catalysts for the Gay Liberation Movement. Pride Month celebrates the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community, honors those whose lives were lost to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS and serves as a catalyst for equity advocacy. 

A history rooted right here 

Seattle has deep roots in LGBTQ+ history and organizing. This June, Seattle Pride celebrates more than 50 years of Pride festivities in the city, established in 1974 as a rallying cry for gay rights and queer visibility in the years following Stonewall. 

Seattle is also home to the Pride Foundation, founded in 1985 in the midst of the HIV/AIDS crisis. A small but courageous group of people came together to create a source of light and hope during a period of profound darkness. Since then, the organization has invested more than $70 million in transformative community change, driven by the simple yet revolutionary belief that every person should be able to live safely, openly and genuinely in all the places they call home. 

At the University of Washington, organized support and celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community goes back even further. In 1967, UW Professor Nicholas Heer co-founded the Dorian Society, the first organization in Seattle to support gay rights and foster queer community. In 1969, Dorian House, operated by a UW counselor and staffed by UW students, began providing counseling services to gay and lesbian people, eventually becoming the Seattle Counseling Center. In the early 1970s, UW students organized both the Gay Student Association and the more radical Gay Liberation Front. 

Pride in Seattle today 

More than half a century on, Seattle Pride Month is one of the city’s largest and most beloved annual events. Beyond the Pride Parade and Seattle Pride in the Park, Seattle Pride offers year-round community engagement activities designed to celebrate and uplift the many voices in its community, connecting a storied past to a vibrant present. 

Below is a guide to events celebrating and resources serving LGBTQIA+ communities at the UW and beyond. 

 Show your Pride this June 

UW Pride Month Flag Raising June 1 | UW Campus Flagpole on Memorial Way (near Kane Hall) | 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Kick off Pride Month with speakers and music at the UW Seattle campus flagpole. No RSVP required. The University Advancement Queer Affinity Group (UA QUEERG) is also hosting a Pride Kick-off prior to the flag raising, held hybrid in Gerberding 142 and online via Zoom. Email here for more information. Flag raisings will also take place at UW Medicine locations including South Lake Union, Montlake, Harborview, Northwest and Northwest OPMC at noon. 

Seattle Pride in the Park June 6 | Volunteer Park | Noon – 7 p.m. This kickoff festival is a full-on experience: thousands of people coming together to celebrate, dance, eat, shop, connect and just be. Don’t miss it. 

Lavender Graduation June 9 | 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. | A joyful celebration of the achievements and contributions of UW’s graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning students. Registration required. 

LGBTQ+ Leaders in Higher Education Happy Hour June 18 | Stoup Brewing, Kenmore | 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Open to faculty and staff from all three UW campuses, this casual gathering is a great chance to connect with colleagues. You’re responsible for your own tab, but outside food and non-alcoholic beverages are welcome. Contact the QFSA for more information.

Run and Walk With Pride June 20 | 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Since 1983, Run & Walk With Pride has brought together LGBTQIA+ athletes and allies to compete and raise funds for local LGBTQIA+ nonprofits. Lace up and join the tradition. 

TransPride Seattle June 26 | Volunteer Park Amphitheater | 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. A free annual festival celebrating Trans life and community across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. 

PrideFest Seattle – Day 1 – June 27 | Capitol Hill | Noon – 8:00 p.m. Capitol Hill’s biggestent is back and 100% free. The festival spans five blocks of North Broadway, Denny and Cal Anderson Park, with three stages of entertainment for all ages. 

PrideFest Seattle – Day 2 – June 28 | Downtown Seattle | Noon – 8:00 p.m. One of the nation’s biggest Pride Festivals, also free. Follow the parade to Seattle Center for hundreds of vendors, food and drink and entertainment on three stages. 

Seattle Pride Parade June 28 | Downtown Seattle | 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Community-led, rooted in activism and unapologetically focused on LGBTQIA2S+ visibility, the Seattle Pride Parade draws 300,000-plus people marching for joy, justice and belonging. Join the Q Center and Q Faculty and Staff Association or UW Medicine contingents to march together. 

Tacoma Pride Festival July 11 | Tacoma | Noon – 6:00 p.m. An all-ages street festival featuring queer and BIPOC entertainment on the main stage, a beer garden, Makers Market and much more. 

Seattle Sounders Pride Night August 16 | 6:00 p.m. Cheer on the Sounders and celebrate community at the same time. Join UW faculty, staff, families, and allies for a special night of connection and celebration at Seattle Sounders Pride Night. Hosted by the University of Washington Queer Faculty and Staff Association (QFSA), this group outing is an opportunity to come together in a fun, inclusive environment and show support for the LGBTQ+ community. The group will be seated in Section 126. Tickets can be purchased at this link.  

Find many more Pride Month community events at the Seattle Pride website. 

Community and resources at the UW 

Whether you’re looking for connection, support or knowledge, the UW has a wealth of resources for LGBTQIA+ community members and allies. 

Q Faculty, Staff & Allies Association fosters a campus climate where all queer faculty, staff and allies are valued and respected, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The association promotes education and dialogue, cultural diversity, leadership and advancement, social networking and the exchange of ideas and resources. 

UW Medicine LGBTQ+ offers a collection of resources, events and community building for queer members of the UW Medicine community. 

LGBTQ+ Resources at the UW supports a culture of inclusion and has provided protections from discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation long before such rights were recognized by federal or state law. 

UW Aging with Pride is a landmark federally funded research project designed to better understand the aging, health and well-being of sexual- and gender-diverse midlife and older adults, led by Professor Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen since 2009. 

UW Libraries offers a wealth of LGBTQIA+ literature and resources, including the LGBTQ History Research Guide with new additions such as the Archives of Sexuality & Gender and Queer Pasts. Special Collections houses oral histories from the Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Project and the LGBTQIA+ Archival Pride Resources. The UW Tacoma Library also has an excellent Gender and Sexuality subject guide and broader community resources list. 

Rainbow Book Month showcases LGBTQIA+ book awards and bibliographies from the American Library Association. 

Support LGBTQ+ communities through the UWCFD 

Consider volunteering your time or making a financial contribution through the UWCFD to member organizations actively working to support the lives and well-being of LGBTQ+ people. You can make a one-time gift or set up an ongoing payroll deduction by searching for a charity by name or by the type of work they do. Can’t find the organization you’re looking for? Email uwcfd@uw.edu and they’ll work to get them added. 

Your gift makes a difference.