Photo Friday

Wyoming Pride

Towns across the state celebrated Pride month throughout June, gathering even as some lawmakers express anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.

by Madelyn Beck June 30, 2023June 29, 2023

Residents celebrated Rock Springs Pride among booths on a sunny day, June 2023. (Rock Springs Pride)

Wyomingites held Pride celebrations all around the state this month — from Cheyenne to Thermopolis, Gillette to Rock Springs. The gatherings were teeming with colorful flags and signs affirming support for LGBTQ residents.

A group of drag queens and a drag king smile and hold a rainbow flag — Wyomingites celebrated Wind River Pride in Lander with food, community and drag shows, June 2023. (Liz Hardwick)

A long-standing annual celebration, Pride month felt particularly meaningful for many this year amid increasing threats and discrimination. Demonstrators aligned with the white supremacist group Patriot Front showed up briefly to protest the Wind River Pride event in Lander. And earlier this year state lawmakers passed the state’s first anti-LGBTQ legislation in decades.

Families with pride flags and colorful clothing stand beside Grand Ave in front of the Laramie Counthouse — Marchers celebrated Laramie Pride by walking to the courthouse on June 17, 2023. (Madelyn Beck/WyoFile)

A group of five people stand behind a table adorned with a colorful sign that says "Welcome! Information" — The Wind River Pride celebration in Lander welcomed LGBTQ supporters from around the state, June 2023. (Wind River Pride)

“But Pride isn’t just for June,” Wind River Pride posted on Instagram. “Keep being you. Always. We stand with you. We celebrate you.”

Eight people in colorful garb, mostly tie-dye, stand in front of picnic tables in a pavilion — PFLAG Gillette hosted a Pride celebration in its city, June 2023. (Ray Kasckow)

A Big Horn Pride celebration was held in Thermopolis, including colorfully decorated baked goods, June 2023. (Scott Alwin)

Madelyn Beck

Madelyn Beck reports from Laramie on health and public safety. Before working with WyoFile, she was a public radio journalist reporting for NPR stations across the Mountain West, covering regional issues... More by Madelyn Beck

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