Lacey Parks Events
Small Town Pride Comes to Olympia
May 14 | 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Lacey,
WA, USA
May. 14, 2026 6:30 pm
May. 14, 2026 7:30 pm
America/Los_Angeles
Lacey Parks Events
Join Anna Schlecht, co-founder of Capital City Pride, as she shares the history of how a small group of people brought Pride to Olympia, the first small town Pride outside the relative safety of a big city in the PNW. Hybrid Format: Come in person to Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers or join online. Registration required for online attendance only. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers
Hybrid Format: Come in person to Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers or join online. Registration required for online attendance only. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Program Description
Anna Schlecht, co-founder of Capital City Pride, will share the history of how a small group of people brought Pride to Olympia, the first small town Pride outside the relative safety of a big city in the PNW. In spite of the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969, most of small town America was still an unsafe place for LGBTQ people for years. In the 1970s and 1980s, many folks travelled to big cities like Seattle or San Francisco for Pride. In 1991, a small group of community-based Olympia & Lacey activists joined some Evergreen students to change that. They realized Pride meant nothing if it couldn’t be held in the small towns we call home. Together, they organized the first march and rally, launching the first small town Pride in the PNW, still thriving today.
Speaker
Anna Schlecht showed up in Olympia with a backpack & a guitar back in 1976. With hair big enough to see from outer space, Schlecht came to the Left Coast in search of people who were dedicated to social justice. Once in Olympia, Schlecht realized that she was really looking for the LGBTQ community. While she didn’t come for college, she ultimately attended Evergreen, earning an undergraduate degree and a Master’s in Public Administration. Later on, she worked for the City of Olympia, doing affordable housing & homeless services for 40 years. Schlecht was involved in founding the Olympia Food Co-op; founded Matrix, a feminist lesbian magazine; helped to pass 25 local LGBTQ rights laws as well as Statewide and national LGBTQ rights laws. In the past 50 years, Schlecht has been involved in raising hell on a range of social justice issues. Now 50 years later, Schlecht still lives in Olympia and raises the kind of hell that’s easier on the knees and back.
