Rain means rainbow umbrellas for Butte Pride Festival
The Butte Pride Festival took place Friday evening at the Original Mineyard and featured performers, vendors and food trucks.
Like the rainbow umbrellas that filled the Original Mineyard on a rainy Friday evening, the Butte Pride Festival sought to bring joy to what could be a gloomy situation.
Attendees stand and sit under umbrellas as they watch performers at the Butte Pride Festival at the Original Mineyard in Butte on Friday.
According to the Trevor Project, a non-profit suicide prevention organization, LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers.
Heidi Doxey, president of the Butte Pride Foundation, said one affirming adult can reduce suicidality for a queer teenager by 40%.
“So we try to be that community here with joy and happiness and color, and just let all of our community members know that we love and support them,” Doxey said.
Riley Williams-Weston, 15, smiles as Joan Martin holds up a mirror for Williams-Weston to look at her face paint at the Butte Pride Festival on Friday, June 26, at the Original Mineyard in Butte.
The Butte Pride Festival is in its fifth year and is organized by the Butte Pride Foundation. Queer Butte, their sister organization, aims to nurture a more inclusive community by showcasing queer creative expression through the arts.
Friday’s event showcased a lineup of drag kings and queens, dance performances and musicians who took the stage under the Original headframe.
Queer Butte hosts events year-round for people to become involved.
Vendors at the festival included food trucks, local artists, nonprofits advocating for suicide prevention, the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department and other resources for the LGBTQ+ community.
Megan Nielsen is a photographer for the Montana Standard newspaper.