20 years after the Pride parade left Broadway, here’s a look at this year’s celebrations on Capitol Hill: Trans Pride, Dyke March, PrideFest street festival, and more

Pride 1992 on Broadway (Image: comeoutseattle.org)

Twenty years ago, Seattle’s core celebration of its queer communities — the annual Pride parade — moved off Capitol Hill.

In 2026, the neighborhood will still swell with Pride as it celebrates around its rainbow crosswalks and everlasting core of gay bars and dance clubs.

Below, find a roster of 2026 Capitol Hill Pride events that highlight how much Seattle’s celebration has changed over the past two decades

Those 20 years have brought massive change to the city — and Capitol Hill, and an expansion of “the gayborhood” to areas across Seattle and the Puget Sound.

Before making Broadway its route in 1983, the Seattle Pride Parade actually originated downtown and in Pioneer Square. Seattle’s first Pride was actually a picnic.

By the mid-2000s, the Broadway parade and its festival at Volunteer Park had grown into victims of their own success. Broadway’s sidewalks were reportedly tightly packed, transit options up the Hill couldn’t yet handle the massive influx of people, and Volunteer Park was a crowded mess.

In 2006, the big parade moved downtown as it outgrew Broadway where it had been held since the early 1980s and expanded to be a bigger part of Seattle culture. The move didn’t come without dramas — some at the basic neighborhood level with bars, restaurants, and shops worried about their future, some more soul searching as the events around Pride took on a more mainstream hue and more and more corporate sponsors.

Pride parade on Broadway, 1993 (Image: City of Seattle)

The friction birthed Seattle’s modern Pride compromise. The official parade stayed downtown to accommodate hundreds of thousands of spectators, while Capitol Hill launched its own street festivals and marches in hopes of keeping the neighborhood’s history of radical, grassroots energy alive.

For a look back at when the Pride parade crossed Capitol Hill, visit the Come Out Seattle project at comeoutseattle.org, a community-driven digital archive and historical preservation initiative focused on documenting, mapping, and celebrating the rich LGBTQ+ history of Seattle.

The project was launched by gay bar veterans Nathan Benedict and Steve Nyman — the owners of Capitol Hill’s Union and founders of the iconic, long-running Thumpers — Realizing how much neighborhood history risk being lost over time, they created the archive to preserve first-hand memories, photos, and narratives for future generations.

For the 20th anniversary of the Pride parade’s move, Seattle Gay News talked with Benedict about When Pride marched on the Hill:

Benedict said that throughout all the years he’s been a part of Pride, there was always an argument about where to hold it and what to call it. In the 1980s it was called the “Gay and Lesbian Parade and Rally” until 1992, when the Freedom Day Committee voted to add “Bisexual” and “Transgender.” The change initially evoked a strong negative reaction among white Gay men and non-butch Lesbians, worried about respectability politics and the movement not being perceived as “normal” by the public.

Here is a look at this weekend’s Pride events on Capitol Hill:

CAPITOL HILL PRIDE 2026

• World Stunt Pride Kickoff Block Party — June 26: BeautyBoiz says it is celebrating “10-years of iconic events” with World Stunt, “a free all-ages block party. Harvard Avenue between Pike and Pine will transform into a vibrant outdoor festival featuring a main stage, 21+ cocktail garden, and queer vendor market.” 4 to 11 PM
• Trans Pride Seattle — June 26: The annual celebration for the city’s Trans communities and the people who love them takes place at the Volunteer Park Amphitheater: “Everyone who supports + affirms Trans life is invited to enjoy our stage show featuring a lineup of all-Trans talent and our tabling fair featuring 100+ Trans-led and affirming orgs, community groups, artists, and services,” the Gender Justice League organizers say, “And to find and bask in community among the thousands of attendees who gather to celebrate, to resist, and to show that Trans people aren’t going anywhere.” 5 to 10 PM
• PrideFest Capitol Hill — June 27: The annual free street festival spans five blocks of North Broadway, Denny, and Cal Anderson Park with music, booths, food, drink, and more. Noon to 8 PM
• Prom Dress Rugby — June 27: “Join Quake and @mudhenrugby as we get all dolled up for Prom Dress Rugby! Watch us ruggers play some rugby in our fanciest looks, and help our teams raise money by donating to make us change outfits, glitter bomb & lather us in sunscreen, and more (with consent)! ” 1 PM kickoff on Bobby Morris Playfield in Cal Anderson Park
• Capitol Hill Pride March & Chalk-In — June 27: The grassroots Pride group returns with plans for a march and “Chalk-In” in the Seattle Central plaza. Noon to 4 PM
• Dyke March — June 27: The Seattle Dyke Alliance invites you to be part of the 32nd annual Seattle Dyke March & Rally: “Advocating for our community and unapologetically holding space is crucial now more than ever. Come spend the Saturday of pride weekend listening to speakers, watching Dyke-aligned performers, and marching for our rights!” Tabling @ 2pm Rally @ 4pm March @ 6pm starting the Seattle Central plaza
• Queer/Pride Festival — June 26-28: QPF nearly rivals CHBP as it has grown into a three-day festival of music and Pride on 11th Ave. Tickets and info
• Block Parties and Beer Gardens: Street permits show venues including Union, Unicorn, the Cuff, and the Wildrose set to host expanded Pride weekend celebrations
• Pride Match Day Watch Parties — June 26: A match in the middle of Pride will get special attention with Pride Match Day gatherings planned around the city

Happy Pride.

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