Cal Anderson ‘NO HATE in WA State’ carnival to rally Seattle against fall ballot initiatives

Organizers are holding a carnival in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park next week to raise funding and awareness in the effort to defeat two anti-choice and anti-trans initiatives on the ballot this fall in Washington.

The planned fair is a community benefit event for NO HATE in WA State taking place on Saturday, August 29th in Cal Anderson.

Supported by a coalition including the ACLU of Washington, SEIU 775’s Ballot Fund, Pro Choice WA, and the Gender Justice League, the family-friendly festival will feature music, magicians, performers, artists, craft tables, face painting, balloon animals, and a bake sale.

Attendees can support the cause in person or contribute online through a donation link.

The Capitol Hill Community Defense effort is also supporting the event.

Organizers are hoping to raise strong support in Seattle in the face of the ballot initiative up for a vote in November. Initiative 001 seeks to restore parental rights measures regarding public school curriculum review, record access, and parental notifications for student health services. Initiative 638 proposes prohibiting transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports and instituting biological sex verification requirements for student athletes. Both measures reflect a broader national shift with debates over schools, parental notification, and transgender youth participation in sports pushed from state legislatures to statewide ballot initiatives.

CHS reported earlier this year on the Gender Justice League’s work to help lead the state’s pushback against the initiatives.

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