2026 Walla Walla Pride Safety Plan
It’s that time of year again: Pride, when we joyfully celebrate the dignity, equality, and visibility of our LGBTQIA2S+ and Allied community. Your Walla Walla Pride 2026 planners have engaged the larger Walla Walla Valley community to plan a safe and joyful Pride celebration. We have been working with local civic organizations, businesses, city officials, law enforcement, volunteers, entertainers, and other leaders in planning this event.
Our Safety Plan
Proactive Training
Members of the Pride Planning Committee and our on-site volunteers will be trained in peacekeeping de-escalations skills by local Safety Marshals with decades of safety and de-escalation experience. They are the same individuals who have been leading the Safety Marshal training and crews in our valley for many years. Their experience comes from working in professional mental health and medical facilities and personal community organizing in communities.
Day-of Volunteer Crew
We will have dozens of volunteers on-site at the Pride Festival to help things run safely and smoothly. They will be identifiable by their Walla Walla Pride Volunteer T-shirts, and Safety Volunteers will also wear reflective safety vests. Our volunteer crew will also include trained Rapid Responders in the unlikely event of the presence of Federal Agents.
Zero Engagement with Agitators
In the event of a protest or other agitator activity, follow the mindset of a peacekeeper. Do not engage in dialogue or debate. Debating only serves to reinforce their belief they have a valid position. Our rights, freedom, dignity, our lives, are not debatable. Focus your energy on the community celebration rather than those attempting to distract from the purpose of our event. They want attention. Don’t give it to them. Learn to internalize a total indifference to their presumed positions of authority. Live a proactive life, not a reactive one.
See Something, Say Something
In the event of an incident that requires the immediate attention of law enforcement or paramedics, please call 911. In addition, we will have designated Safety and De-escalation Team Leads. We will also have a DIY First Aid Kit at the Info Booth. If you see something suspicious, please immediately report to a Safety Volunteer, the Info Booth, or the police.
Walla Walla Pride Community Agreements
Be Respectful
Affirm the dignity of your fellow community members and allies through kindness and respect. Pride Festivals should feel safe and diverse. All attendees can play a part in modeling a culture where everyone’s Pride experience is valued and no one is made to feel uncomfortable. We can do this by looking out for each other and being aware of how our own behavior can, sometimes unintentionally, make others feel. Please make sure you have consent before engaging in physical contact with others. If you see someone being objectified, harassed, or looking uncomfortable with another’s behavior, ask if they are okay or notify a Pride volunteer for help.
See Something, Say Something
Power and safety come from the strength of our relationships and our commitment to our community. Please report any concerns, no matter how big or small, to the Info Booth or Volunteers on site. Should you see any threats to the Walla Walla Pride Festival or the local LGBTQIA2S+ community on social media or elsewhere before, during, or after this event, please forward them to [email protected].
Focus on Joy
There may be people who attend our Pride Festival that want to disrupt the event. In the event that there are individuals who are agitating, harassing, or otherwise disrupting our event, please ignore them to the extent possible. They want the narrative of the event to be about their disruption; we don’t have to let that happen. We can continue to focus on the joy of celebrating Pride in community. Please do not engage with agitators, and bring in a Safety Volunteer to help with de-escalation if needed.
Photo and Video Policy
Please do not share photographs or videos of non-entertainer attendees, vendors, volunteers, or others without their permission. We ask event volunteers, vendors, and attendees to be mindful of sharing and tagging content that is consensual among those captured in photos or video. Please be sure your content is thoughtful, respectful, and embodies the mind of a peacekeeper. Please do not make assumptions about fellow Pride attendees, their identities, and/or comfort with appearing in photos publicly. Please do your best to ask for consent before posting, sharing, and tagging.
Keeping our Community Healthy
The well-being of our community is a top priority. We will have health and safety items including ear plugs, hand sanitizer, masks, basic first aid supplies, and sunscreen available for free at our event Info Booth, and also at Health and Safety Stations located throughout the event space. There will be a dedicated masked zone at the event, which is ADA-accessible, offers shade, and can be entered safely via the Heritage Park entrance next to Graze on Colville Street. We ask that you stay home if you do not feel well.
Walla Walla Pride is grateful to the Western States Center and Sandpoint Pride, Sandpoint, Idaho, for their leadership in the area of promoting safe and joyful Pride events. The Western States Center’s “Protecting Pride: An Organizing Guide for Successfully and Safely Celebrating LGBTQIA2S+ Joy in These Times” and Sandpoint Pride’s “Safety at Sandpoint Pride” documents were invaluable in creating this plan. Thank you to everyone in the Walla Walla Valley community, especially our Safety Marshals and volunteers, for coming together to plan and enjoy this event. Happy Pride!