Austin Pride Parade: 2017

The Austin Pride Parade was originally scheduled for the last Saturday in August—the same weekend that Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. Although Austin was not impacted as much as Houston and coastal areas, that Saturday evening was a rainy, windy mess. The parade was rescheduled for a month later. This time the weather was perfect.

This year’s theme was Viva Austin PRIDE. The parade was colorful and energetic, but there seemed to be fewer bystanders than usual. I suspect this was because the corresponding Austin Pride Festival had to be rescheduled to a different day (October 21).

Many local church and school groups marched in the parade. City services (fire, police, EMS, sanitation, etc.) and their vehicles were well-represented.

Groups from big companies, including ebay, VISA, and Google, participated in the parade. This year’s contingent from Apple was smaller than usual, but those marchers had just as much enthusiasm as always.

Many local non-profits also participated in the Austin Pride Parade. Zach Scott’s fall production is Singing in the Rain, so their white umbrellas with multi-colored glow sticks were quite appropriate.

Balloons were all the rage this year, especially colorful long ones. And, of course, all the best parades have all the best floats…

© Austin Downtown Diary, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Austin Downtown Diary with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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