Camas Pride Block Party expands

As Pride celebrations across the country report a lack of sponsorship, funding and support in the wake of a presidential administration that has cracked down on LGBTQ rights, the annual Camas Pride Block Party stands out. Now in its third year, the Camas Pride event has burgeoned from a small block party with a handful of vendors to a weekendlong, citywide festival set to accommodate nearly 80 vendors and over 1,000 attendees. “We’re growing in a year when other Pride events have really struggled with fundraising. That says something about the community here in Camas,” said Brie Hilliard, who chaired the 2025 Camas Pride Committee with Jacquie Hill, founder of the nonprofit LiveWell Camas yoga studio and community gathering space in downtown Camas. This year’s event kicks off at 6 p.m. June 20 with a three-hour Camas Pride Summer Solstice Ceremony at the LiveWell yoga studio, 417 N.E. Birch St., Camas. On June 21, the Camas Pride celebration shifts into high gear with “Pride on the Lake,” a full day and night of events that include an early-morning Pride Paddle on Lacamas Lake; a community-building picnic and all-ages fitness class at Heritage Park; Our Bold Voices’ “Defiant Moments” book tour at Bookish’s new location near Lacamas Lake; and a Drag Bingo event for ages 21 and older at Caps N’ Taps. The Pride weekend’s main event, the Camas Pride Live Your Best Life Block Party, will take over two blocks in downtown Camas from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 22. It will feature nearly 80 vendors, a performance stage, a DJ, face painting and a queer art gallery described by Camas Pride organizers as “a sensory escape for our friends who get overstimulated or are just looking for a calm and welcoming space.” Hill said she formed the first block party in response to a request from the Camas High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (formerly known as the Gay-Straight Alliance). “The first year, the GSA at Camas High wanted to do something for Pride as part of First Friday but ran into roadblocks,” Hill said. With just a few weeks to plan the inaugural event, Hill managed to host a small block party near her downtown Camas yoga studio. By 2024, she had more time to plan the Camas Pride event, and the block party grew exponentially, hosting nearly 40 vendors and welcoming around 1,000 attendees. This year, Hill used LiveWell’s newly acquired nonprofit status to apply for grant money and form a Camas Pride Committee to oversee the planning of the 2025 block party. “We now have over 73 vendors and will have two blocks closed — Birch Street between Fourth and Fifth (avenues) and Fifth Avenue between Birch and Cedar (streets) — and we’re expanding to other parts of Camas,” Hill said. Hill’s LiveWell Camas Youth Council, formed to add a youth perspective to LiveWell’s community offerings, is planning to host a friendship booth at this year’s block party to help other young people feel more included. “If you come alone, you can come to the booth and get paired with someone,” said Niko Blank, 16, a Discovery High School sophomore and member of the LiveWell Youth Council As the mother of an 11-year-old child who identifies as nonbinary and queer, and the soon-to-be adoptive parent of a trans man in his early 20s, Hilliard said she understands the challenges facing many young people in the Camas area who identify as a member of the LGBTQ community. “This is where my heart is right now, especially with what’s happening politically out in the world,” Hilliard said. “My kid is a wonderful advocate for themselves, … but our experience with other elementary school kids is that they have been misunderstood and kids will say (anti-LGBTQ) things they hear at home. To have my kid hear that day in and day out … it all adds up to a much bigger issue.” Hilliard said LiveWell Camas has provided a space for many LGBTQ youth to feel accepted, safe and welcome. Now, the expanding Camas Pride celebration will show them that they have an entire community of supporters, she said. “The need is here. There are a lot of people in the community who are cautious, who don’t know where people stand or if they’ll be accepted,” Hilliard said. “The block party is going to be big and fun, with people coming together with the same goal: to create a visible place that lets people know we are here, and we are a safe place for folks who need it.” The Camas Pride Committee has hired private security to help attendees feel safe. “No one asked us to hire security but we all felt that, given the current state of affairs, we wanted to make sure our attendees felt safe and that anything that may happen was taken care of before it escalated,” Hilliard said. The Camas Pride celebration is still seeking sponsors and volunteers. “We’re hoping to have 12 to 15 volunteers on shift at any one time for the block party, specifically, and volunteers who want to help out with the Saturday events at the lake,” Hilliard said. The committee has a volunteer sign-up sheet online at livewellcamas.com. Most of the Camas Pride events are free, with the exception of the June 20 solstice celebration and the drag bingo event. For more information, visit livewellcamas.com/pride

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