Fall Pride Kicks Off in Durango, CO

Even though June is past and the weather is (theoretically) cooling down, Pride is not over. Now through September 15, the Southwest town of Durango will celebrate its third Annual Fall Pride Festival, presented by the Four Corners Alliance for Diversity, or the Alliance for short.

Events will be hosted throughout the week, and already it looks like a hit. Local businesses are all pitching in to host the party. On the family-friendly side, Wednesday night featured a screening of Labyrinth starring bi-con David Bowie at the Animas City Theatre. Fort Lewis College had a mocktail happy hour on Thursday open to all ages. For the adults, Esoterra Ciderworks will offer the boozy version tonight from 6-9 p.m.

The main event is the Grand Precession followed by the Pride in the Park Festival on September 14. The procession will lead down Main Street to Buckley Park in the heart of Durango. It is an all-ages event and will feature local vendors, music, and drag performances by national and local drag artists. The recently crowned Mr., Ms., and Mx. DragRango winners will get a spotlight at the festival as a celebration of Durango’s queer artistry.

“We made the decision to move our Pride to the fall for a couple different reasons,” says Chairman Stephen O’Brien. “First and foremost it allows us to include a lot students that are not here during the summer. Second, it allows us to not have to compete with larger cities around us. It allows for people who may want to enjoy Pride in Denver, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, or anywhere else during June to go to those and still celebrate here locally.”

Deep in the heart of Lauren Boebert-territory, Durango is one of the many bastions for LGBTQ+ life on the Western Slope. It reminds us that queer people exist outside of progressive cities and districts. I grew up on the Eastern Plains and Front Range, but I attended college in Durango. I’ve seen first-hand how often these places get forgotten. Denver is often the epicenter of Colorado life. Mountain towns and Western Slope cities are destinations rather than places with family, friends, and communities. However, Durango’s Fall Pride and the Alliance challenges assumptions surrounding rural and mountain towns.

“We march to remember our history,” the flyer for the Grand Procession reads, “honor those we’ve lost, and make visible ourselves, our community,  and our future.”

Photo courtesy of Mercedes Mehling