BOISE, Idaho — Boise Pride Fest returns Sept. 6–7, bringing rainbow celebrations back to Ann Morrison Park for the first time in more than a decade.
Organizers say the festival will look and feel different this year after falling short on corporate sponsorships.
WATCH: Boise Pride Fest faces funding hurdles but promises a big celebration—
“This year's been tough for us. You know, at Prides across the country, I've seen quite a change in support, you know, from the communities that they're in, and we're no exception to that,” said Michael Dale, president of Boise Pride.
Dale said the event is about $200,000 short of its typical corporate fundraising goal after the loss of several longtime sponsors. That has forced changes, including cutting the festival back to two days and scaling down stages, headliners, and other production costs.
“We shortened to two days. We've got a smaller stage. We've got kind of smaller headliners, more local talent. Scale back other things, you know, less banners, things like that, where we can kind of cut those costs,” Dale said.
Despite the setbacks, Boise Pride is moving forward with its annual fireworks show. Dale said community support has helped keep that tradition alive through crowdfunding efforts.
“We're still going to do the fireworks show. We've been crowdfunding for that the last three weeks. We're a little bit over halfway our goal. We're confident we'll get there this week to still have that be the full effect that it's kind of had in the past,” he said.
Even if fundraising falls short, Dale said there will still be a fireworks display – just on a smaller scale. He encouraged the community to attend and support the businesses and performers that make Pride possible.
Boise Pride Fest is free to attend and will feature food trucks, live music, and celebration.
