Our guide to the whole Pride weekend

Seattle Pride is upon us, with parades, events, and celebration happening all weekend long. Whether you want to jump in and celebrate, avoid crowds and closures, or a little bit of columns A and B, here’s a helpful breakdown of what’s happening.

Friday, June 22: Trans Pride and block parties on Capitol Hill

Trans Pride: Location, hours, and getting there

Trans Pride, thanks to a grassroots fundraising effort, will be back for another year. The event will feature performances, including music and comedy, from Seattle’s trans community, plus a march.

The main event is at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill from 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Link Light Rail will take you straight there—one exit to the Capitol Hill Station is literally inside the park.

If you’re bus-bound, the King County Metro Route 11 from downtown or Madison Park will get you closest to the exact location, but the 10, 43, 49, and 60 will all get you within a block. The 10, 43, and 49 run from downtown; the 60 runs from White Center through Beacon Hill and Georgetown. The 49, going the other way, will take you straight there from the U District.

Parking is going to be tricky—it’s a Friday night on Capitol Hill, plus Pride weekend, plus street closures. If you’re going to drive, plan on getting there early and using a pay lot, just to be safe. The Seattle Central College garage is a nearby, popular option and costs $10 per day—but it’s likely to fill up fast.

Trans Pride march route

Trans Pride’s march route is typically short and confined to around Cal Anderson Park, although the route will have some to-be-determined changes this year.

Friday Pride parties

Capitol Hill is going to be one huge pride party, but a couple of places are going above and beyond with block parties and revelry in the streets. Two are starting Friday night: The Wildrose and Queer/Bar.

Wildrose pride is huge: The whole block party spans from 10th to 11th Avenue East on East Pike Street and on 11th from East Pike to East Union, starting 6 p.m. on Friday and running all weekend long.

Around the corner, Queer/Bar extends the block party into an L shape, blocking off 11th Avenue between Pike and Pine for revelry.

Pretty much every bar in Capitol Hill (and many bars elsewhere) is having some sort of Pride thing. The Stranger’s queer calendar is a great guide.

Friday Pride street closures

Trans Pride is mostly confined to Cal Anderson, but during the march plan to use alternate routes around Capitol Hill

Wildrose and Queer/Bar’s Pride celebrations close 10th to 11th Avenue East on East Pike Street and on 11th from Pike to Pine starting at 6 p.m. on Friday straight on through til Monday morning at 2 a.m.

Saturday, June 23: Dyke March, Family Pride, Youth Pride, and Capitol Hill PrideFest

Capitol Hill Pride: Location, hours, and getting there

Something will be happening on Capitol Hill at pretty much all hours of the day on Saturday, but especially concentrated within several blocks of Broadway from Pine to Roy—between Pridefest Capitol Hill, Capitol Hill Pride, and events put on by local businesses, there’s something everywhere.

Capitol Hill Pride events are clustered around Seattle Central College.

That includes:

• A march and rally at 10 a.m. to kick off the festivities.
• A doggy drag contest at noon.
• Multiple concerts, speakers, and performances.

All the way down Broadway and at Cal Anderson Park, there’s even more celebration with Capitol Hill Pridefest—including a closed-off street from John to Roy:

• Family Pride and Queer Youth Pride are happening from 1 to 7 p.m. in Cal Anderson Park.
• Julia’s on Broadway is handling festivities at the closed-off corner at Broadway and Thomas.
• Wildrose Pride and Queer/Bar Pride continue over in the Pike/Pine corridor.
• Farther up Pike and Pine on 13th, Elysian Brewing and the Cuff are also spilling festivities out into the street.
• A rally before the Dyke March is convening at Seattle Central College at Broadway and Pike from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Again, pretty much every bar in Capitol Hill (and many other places!) is having some sort of Pride thing, and the Stranger’s queer calendar is a great guide.

Transit is going to be the same for a lot of these. Link Light Rail is a great option—the Capitol Hill Station has exits at Broadway and John, Broadway and Denny, and the middle of Cal Anderson Park.

If you’re going to the south end of Broadway, try the 11, which goes up Pine, or the 2, which goes up Union. The 49 and the 60 should take you anywhere along the festivities, but will be rerouted to 12th Avenue instead of Broadway. The 43 and the 10 will take you right into the center of the action at Broadway and John.

Parking is going to be tricky, again—any weekend on Capitol Hill is bad, plus Pride, plus street closures. The Seattle Central College garage and the Broadway Market garage are both right near the festivities and are relatively large, but will still probably fill up fast.

Capitol Hill Pride March route

The Capitol Hill Pride March, starting at 10 a.m., has a relatively straightforward rectangle of a route, starting at Broadway and Pine, heading up Pine to 12th, north on 12th to John, west on John to Broadway, then back to the starting point.

Seattle Dyke March route

The Dyke March hasn’t posted its official route yet, but last year it started at Broadway and Pine, went east on Pike to 12th, north on 12th to Mercer, west on Mercer to Broadway, and then back south on Broadway to Seattle Central College.

Saturday Pride street closures

Wildrose Pride continues to close 10th to 11th Avenue East on East Pike Street Add closures on 11th between Pike and Pine for Queer/Bar’s block party. Closures in the Pike/Pine corridor continue up on 13th for the Elysian and the Cuff’s parties.

Between Capitol Hill Pridefest and Julia’s, don’t count on getting a car onto Broadway between John and Roy anytime on Saturday.

Expect closures along the Dyke March route—the parts that aren’t already affected by Pridefest—starting around 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 24: Downtown Seattle Pride Parade and PrideFest in Seattle Center

Seattle Pride Parade route

The Seattle Pride Parade, like last year, starts at Fourth Avenue and Union Street and ends around Denny and Broad—right by the Seattle Center, where Sunday’s PrideFest will be in full swing. The parade will run from 11 a.m. to around 3 p.m.

Seattle Pride Parade street closures

Streets along Fourth Avenue in the Downtown area—from Denny all the way down to the staging area at Fourth and Washington—will start to close around 7 a.m. but should all be open again by 5 p.m.

PrideFest at Seattle Center: location, hours, and getting there

From noon to 8 p.m., Seattle Center will be in full pride mode, with multiple stages of performers across the Seattle Center campus.

Buses run all along the edges of Seattle Center—so take your pick if you’re checking out the whole festival, or pick and choose based on what stage you’re most attached to.

The 8, which runs from Capitol Hill, hits both the south and west sides of the Seattle Center, going past the Space Needle and the mural stage before turning the corner to Key Arena—for decent access to the fountain.

The 1, 2, 13, 32, and RapidRide D also run along the west side of the Center by the Key.

For the east side of Seattle Center, try the 3 or the 4, which come from upper Queen Anne on one side and from downtown and the Central District on the other.

If you must drive, the Seattle Center does have parking garages—but they can get spendy. Rates go from $6 for a quick stop or $30 for a full day.