COEUR d’ALENE — North Idaho Pride Alliance executive director Dr. Sarah Lynch had simple, but powerful words to describe Saturday’s Pride in the Park.

“It’s joyful, it’s loving,” Lynch said. “It’s been great.”

City Park was a rainbow of color as around 3,000 people attended the yearly celebration, many of whom flew Pride flags or expressed themselves through colorful, creative outfits.

Julia Bartlett and her daughter, Olivia, 12, look forward to attending Pride every year — complete with coordinated outfits.

“We love the joy and the inclusion at Pride,” Bartlett said. “I think there’s a lot of stigma and misconceptions about it, but if people came out to see what it’s about, I think they’d feel different.”

A handful of protestors gathered just outside of City Park during the event, and Coeur d’Alene Police officers were on scene both inside and outside the park throughout the day.

The first Pride event in Coeur d’Alene was held in 2016 and attracted about 50 people, Lynch said.

Since then, the event has seen consistent growth, attracting vendors and attendees from throughout the Inland Northwest.

“Our community as a whole, our allies included, have embraced their queer neighbors and family members,” Lynch said.

This year, almost 90 area vendors offering food, merchandise, and community resources took part in the event, Lynch added.

There were other reasons to celebrate Saturday, as well. 

Brenda Pratt and Bobbi Tidwell, both of Moses Lake, Wash., renewed their marriage vows on stage at the bandshell, to the cheers of hundreds of community members.

Their first wedding was in May 2020.

The women said the first five years of their marriage put their relationship to the test. Together, they navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, job loss, health challenges, caring for an ailing parent and more.

“You’re my rock,” Pratt said. “I want to help you love your life, to always hold you with tenderness and have the patience that love demands, to speak when words are needed and share the silence when they’re not and live within the warmth of your heart and always call it home."

 Tidwell grew misty-eyed as she made her vows to Pratt.

 “You loved me even when I was difficult to love,” she said. “You inspired me to look further into myself than I knew was possible. You challenged me to be the best human being I could be — and because of you, I want to be the best human being, for my sake and yours.”

 When Pratt and Tidwell stepped off the stage, another couple approached them to express their excitement at seeing people like them celebrate their love publicly in North Idaho.

 That, Pratt said, is why she and Tidwell chose to renew their vows at Pride in the Park: to show other LGBTQ+ people that they’re not alone and there is a community that supports them.

 “It was so much bigger than us,” Pratt said. 

    Julia Bartlett and her daughter Olivia, 12, dressed for the occasion to celebrate Pride in the Park on Saturday in Coeur d'Alene.
  

    Leigh McOmber with Idaho for All holds a "Love Wins" sign as she speaks to attendees of Saturday's Pride in the Park event in Coeur d'Alene.
  

    Bobbi Tidwell, left, and Brenda Pratt, right, beam as they renew their wedding vows on stage at the bandshell in City Park. Jan Shannon, center, officiated the ceremony during Pride in the Park.