Community Government

Councilmembers to hand out Pride flags on June 10

The Gig Harbor City Council recently approved a resolution that establishes the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Gig Harbor.

On Friday, June 10, Councilmembers Brenda Lykins, Mary Barber and several other council members will be giving away free Pride flags and posters. They will be at Skansie Park on Harborview Drive at 3 p.m. Friday.

Gig Harbor City Councilmembers Brenda Lykins, left, and Mary Barber will hand out Pride flags the afternoon of June 10 at Skansie Park. Contributed photo

Lykins proposed the Pride Month resolution after she was told by a constituent that there had never been any local recognition of it.

“When I was running for city council, a core of my platform was inclusion and that Gig Harbor should be a city that welcomes everyone,” Lykins said, “I ran on the idea of strength in our diversity.”

Barber noted that the flag give-away is not an official city-sponsored event, but that “it’s just a chance to get together and meet our neighbors and celebrate that everyone is welcome here – that we are One Gig Harbor.”

Included in the resolution is language that invites all residents to celebrate, welcome and promote a culture of acceptance to LGBTQ+ friends, family and neighbors, Lykins added.

Councilmember Jeni Woock, who supported the resolution, said that the resolution and Friday’s celebration are “important ways to demonstrate acceptance of everyone in Gig Harbor. Pride Month was inspired by the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and has grown to a worldwide movement. I expect to see this celebration build every year in Gig Harbor in celebration of the LGBTQ+ history and I look forward to seeing folks come together in love and acceptance and equality.”