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Klamath Falls hosts second annual pride festival on Saturday

Two people stand in a park in front of a table covered in a rainbow tablecloth. Other various rainbow decorations are dotted around pop-up tents. One of the people with a rainbow colored beard is blowing bubbles.
Klamath Falls DSA
The Klamath Pride 2021 event, also held at the Veterans Memorial Park. Organizers say the event saw around 100-150 attendees. Almost 200 people have responded as "going" on the event's Facebook page this year.

Klamath Falls is hosting its second annual pride festival on Saturday. The event鈥檚 organizers are excited despite threatening messages in recent weeks.

Southern Oregon was home to more LGBTQ pride events this year, including one held in Medford last month that drew hundreds from around the region.

Organizers in Klamath Falls are hoping for a similar turnout at their event this Saturday.

Festival Organizer Jeff Press says he鈥檚 excited to see everyone come together to support the LGBTQ youth in Klamath Falls.

鈥淵ou see these negative things and kids can feel very alienated," Press says. "And so I鈥檓 excited for this event to happen so that we can show you are loved, you are cared about and you belong.鈥

In recent weeks, several religious and political groups have posted threatening messages about the event on social media, and are organizing a protest at the nearby government center building.

Organizer Courtney Neubauer says that鈥檚 something the LGBTQ community has to fight against.

鈥淭he thing that has been so incredible and has regrounded us and made us feel safer is the fact that we have an incredible community," Neubauer says.

Neubauer says they鈥檝e gotten a lot of support from people who are excited for the event this year.

Because of a on LGBTQ community members in the Northwest, festival organizers want to ensure the event is safe.

Press says alongside local police presence, staff will be trained in de-escalation tactics to deal with any conflicts.

The festival takes place from noon-5:00 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday. Neubauer says there will be local vendors, family friendly activities and performances for the community to enjoy.

A performance of a local play called 鈥淭he Secret Life of Peas鈥 will also start at noon at the nearby Linkville Playhouse.

Roman Battaglia is a regional reporter for 老夫子传媒. After graduating from Oregon State University, Roman came to JPR as part of the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism in 2019. He then joined Delaware Public Media as a Report For America fellow before returning to the JPR newsroom.