‘Love wins’: Canyon County Pride organizers ready to celebrate, regardless of opposition
Canyon County’s first-ever Pride Festival is coming to Nampa this weekend, and organizers are choosing to block out the negative noise as they prepare for a celebration that is likely to be met with protests from those trying to dampen the fun.
The festival, which will be held Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at Lakeview Park, gained significant publicity after Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling released a statement saying the event “does not reflect the personal beliefs and convictions of myself, Nampa City Council and many living in Nampa,” but told those calling for the event to be canceled that it was important to recognize everyone’s First Amendment rights.
“We didn’t anticipate (the mayor’s) endorsement,” Tom Wheeler, an organizer for the festival, told the Idaho Statesman in an interview. “We felt like those comments, that’s not being a good neighbor. We feel that a mayor is meant to reflect the values of all constituents, not just a few folks who are upset.”
Event organizers are preparing for more than 1,000 people to show up on Sunday, but that number is a moving target, Wheeler said.
They also are preparing for anti-LGBTQ+ protesters.
The festival will include food trucks, live music and 38 local vendors, ranging from food and drink to arts and informational booths. The main headliner will be country music singer Will Burton.
Boise Pride also will have a table at the festival, and Wheeler credits that group for helping with the planning process, providing insights and keeping the Canyon County group aware of possible security issues.
“I found a lot of toxic channels that I monitor, chatter from right-wing extremists and things like that, I caught wind of a few things, so I kept (Canyon County Pride organizers) in the loop on that,” Donald Williamson, executive director of the Boise Pride Festival, told the Statesman in an interview.
Sunday’s festival in Nampa will have its own private security team, and organizers have also been in contact with the Nampa Police Department. Officers will be at the event to monitor and prevent problems, Nampa Deputy Chief Curt Shankel told the Statesman.
“Our job as law enforcement, we want to make sure that everybody is safe that day,” Shankel said. “There’s been numerous contacts with our command staff and those working the event to make sure that we understand what crowd size they are expecting, what social media feedback they are getting, are they receiving threats. There has been very good communication.”
Wheeler echoed Shankel’s stance, and said the police department has done everything in its power ahead of the event.
“Let’s be real, we didn’t want to have 700 feet of temporary fencing, we didn’t want to hire private security and have detailed conversations with police,” Wheeler said. “We wanted to just pull some park benches together and have a day in the park like most folks do.”
Unlike the annual Boise Pride Festival, which now takes place in September, the Canyon County Pride Festival is still figuring out exactly what its event will look like. Organizers said they hope this will be the start of an ongoing tradition, and they are doing their best to block out negative feedback on social media channels while the community offers support.
“(We’ve) been able to see so many positive things come about behind the scenes,” said Van Knapp, an organizer for the festival. “Someone calls and says, ‘Hey, can I provide water for your festival?’ and then 20 minutes later someone else calls and says, ‘Hey, can I give you $1,500 to help out?’ The community that we have has been so incredibly supportive.”
Wheeler and Knapp both said the main goal of the festival is that everyone and anyone who wants to show up — not limited to members of the LGBTQ+ community — will have a good time in a space where they can enjoy themselves.
Organizers also hope the festival will portray a message of unity across Nampa, an area Wheeler described as “traditionally conservative.”
“The mayor is invited, and folks who don’t necessarily believe what we believe are invited,” Wheeler said. “This is an opportunity to experience our queer culture. And it’s just for one day in a month. The message that we are hoping to share is a message of unity, of inclusivity and of love. Love wins.”
