Southeastern-Idaho Pride celebration set for Saturday at Caldwell Park

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - The inaugural Southeastern-Idaho Pride celebration will kick off on Saturday at Caldwell Park in Pocatello, and a whole day worth of excitement is on the way. 

"We will start out with a beauty dragon pageant at nine in the morning, lasting till about noon," said Marketing Director Tanner Gilman. "At noon, we will start our venders and our main drag performances on our main stage. We will have lots of food trucks and fun activities for the children."

But with the arrests of 31 men affiliated with a white supremacist group in Coeur D’Alene earlier this month, security is a top priority. 

"Due to recent events at other pride festivals throughout Idaho, we do have the support of the Pocatello Police, who will have a heightened awareness here at our event on Saturday," Gilman said. "We also have hired a private security company, Blue Line Security, who will also be safeguarding our event."

Gilman says he is looking forward to seeing his friends in the community celebrate together. 

"It's wonderful, because we have people of all ages and walks of life that come out here and support pride," Gilman said. "Pride is not just the LGBTQ community, it's also who you are as a person."

Southeastern Idaho Public Health and Project Filter will also be providing free HIV testing, and resources on STDs, safe sex and quitting nicotine. 

Ultimately, they want everyone to feel welcome, safe, and healthy. 

"We want the youth and people of all walks of life to see that it's okay to be different and that there are different types of people out in the community and that we can have fun while still being age-appropriate."