Hundreds Attend Inaugural Arlington PRIDE 2022 Celebration

Hundreds Attend Inaugural Arlington PRIDE 2022 Celebration

The city of Arlington celebrated its first ever PRIDE celebration on Saturday, June 4th, at Legion Memorial Park. Hundreds of community members attended the event.

This inaugural celebration was organized by Arlington, WA Pride, a nonprofit organization, dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.

The event featured a panel discussion, performances, interactive activities and a Pride walk. Everett Herald reporter Jacqueline Allison wrote that attendees shared how this year’s Pride event “felt historic for their small, rural communities.”

Teri McKeehan, The Arc’s own Community Connections Coordinator, also attended the Arlington event, representing The Arc of Snohomish County.

Erica Knapp, an Arlington, WA Pride board member and Arc Leader, shared with the North County Outlook about the drive behind creating the event as an annual celebration. In a June 7th news article, NC Outlook reporter Christopher Andersson wrote:

“About a year ago local community members began forming the non-profit Arlington WA Pride for local LGBT people.

‘We saw a need in the community,’ said Knapp. ‘There was a social media post about how there is ‘no unicorns in Arlington’ and we have set to prove that wrong.”

Click here to read the full news article.

Arlington, WA Pride members plan to host a number of smaller community events throughout the year and will be back again next June for the 2nd Annual Arlington Pride event. (Find information about upcoming events at arlingtonwapride.org/calendar.)

Click here to read more about the Arlington Pride event, as well as a neighboring celebration on Camano Island.

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Whitney Stohr is the Leadership & Independent Living Program Manager at The Arc of Snohomish County. She is passionate about advocating for medically complex children and children with disabilities and their families. She is a mom and medical caregiver herself, who is energized by working closely with other parent/family caregivers. She lives with her spouse and their four-year-old son Malachi in Lynnwood. Connect with her on Instagram @rollin.w.spinabifida. Contact: whitney@arcsno.org.

Thank you to Arlington, WA Pride and Arc Leader Erica Knapp for allowing use of the images seen in this post.