Portland’s Jewish community has double the chance to celebrate Pride together this summer.
Jewish Pride Greater PDX will return to Portland’s Pride Parade on Sunday, July 19, and will join Beaverton’s 10th Annual Pride in the Park celebration Sunday, June 28 at Beaverton City Park.
Rachel Nelson, a cofounder of Jewish Pride Greater PDX and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s Chief Planning Officer, is particularly excited about the Jewish community’s involvement in Washington County’s largest Pride event.
“We know that 20 percent of the Jewish community lives in the western suburbs, so we’ve been focusing a lot of effort on providing opportunities in Washington County,” she said. “We did the candidate forum this year. We’ve been involved with the school district out there, and this was just another wonderful avenue to engage with the Beaverton community.”
The Federation will be joined by BB360, Cedar Sinai Park, Congregations Beth Israel, Neveh Shalom, Kol Ami and Shir Tikvah, the Eastside Jewish Commons, Jewish Family & Child Service and P’nai Or of Portland.
For those accustomed to Portland’s July Pride festival, the Beaverton event will be a different experience.
“Beaverton’s vibe is very different,” Nelson explained. “It is much smaller, much more intimate. It also includes the opportunity to have a booth, so our Jewish community will be tabling at the Pride Festival, being able to share what’s available on behalf of our larger Jewish community.”
The parade will begin at 11 am, with the information fair and festival, including performances by Poison Waters & Friends and others, running until 5 pm.
This year will mark the Portland Jewish community’s ninth year as part of Portland Pride, one of the largest Pride celebrations in the Western United States.
“We’ve had such a wonderful relationship with Pride Northwest since 2017 when we started marching,” Nelson said. “We really appreciate the relationship that we’ve developed with Pride Northwest and the ability to be part of the larger Pride Festival parade while showcasing the Jewish community as part of the queer community.”
Portland’s parade begins at 11 am in the North Park Blocks and ends next to the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival on Southwest Naito Parkway.
2023’s Portland Community Study found that a full seven percent of Portland Jews identify as LGBTQ+, and showing those individuals, and the wider world, that the Jewish community is affirming of all people’s identity was, and is, a major motivating factor in Jewish Pride Greater PDX’s ongoing work. Providing a sense of belonging for queer Jews has also taken on a new significance in the last few years.
“People coming from other communities don’t really know that there’s a place for them in the expansive Jewish community here in Portland,” Nelson said, “and on the flip side, we’ve heard from quite a few people over the last two-plus years that they have lost a sense of their queer community because of their Jewish identity.”
Nelson said that Jewish Pride Greater PDX will not be bringing geopolitical concerns into their participation at either parade – so bring your rainbow flags but leave all national banners at home. Both parades will also feature a bus for those who want to join in but face mobility challenges.
“It’s always a delightful event. It’s family friendly, and we have a lot of fun,” Nelson said.
For more information, follow Jewish Pride Greater PDX on Facebook at facebook.com/jewishpridepdx, visit jewishportland.org/pdxjewishpride, or email Nelson at rachel@jewishportland.org.