A joyful group of people gathered in Haines this weekend for a parade.
Around 70 colorfully dressed residents gathered on Haines’s Main street on Saturday. They marched, waved homemade signs, and danced in a hastily organized “Love Parade”.
They answered the call of Facebook posts and flyers issued the day before. The invitations asked residents to come and march in support of love, diversity, and inclusion.
Resident Thom Morphet sent some invitations through the community.
Morphet: “I just had to make a couple of phone calls, and then everybody was like ‘I’ll be there’ I think it’s been a long winter and people want to chare some joy. And we are standing up for people who are different. And this is Haines, everybody is different here.”
The parade was partly a response to some residents’ calls to cancel the booking of the troupe Juneau Drag for this summer’s state fair. Drag shows are associated with the LGBTQ community and deemed offensive by some residents.
Resident Amy Kane was part of the celebration.
Kane: “My sign says ‘I love civil public discourse’ I hope that we can all discuss whatever issues that are facing our community in a loving manner, and not being bullies to each other.”
A 2022 Gallup poll estimates over 7% of Americans identify as LGBTQ. This could amount to hundreds of people in Haines.
