Oct. 13—Members of Odyssey Youth Center woke up to bouts of vandalism four times this month, but they closed Thursday evening with a celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride and inclusion.
After three days in a row of paint-splashed crosswalks, stolen flags and spray-painted slurs, South Perry streets instead featured upbeat music, lines of traffic-jammed cars honking their support, and attendees and shopfronts alike decked out in all things rainbow.
One goal of "Pop-up Perry Pride" was to bring customers to local businesses and to the Perry Street Thursday Market, which was happening simultaneously.
Eva Zertuche-Spear, who works at the Veda Lux Boutique, a small business decorated with a garland of LQBTQ+ flags, said it was also a way for the community to come together in the midst of the recent vandalism.
"It was put on very last-minute just to kind of, in real time, show support," she said. "It is a response but not necessarily a retaliation. It is the correct response to show support to those who were affected, and know that we stand behind them."
Phyllis Thayer, a member of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, agreed.
"I think it's in response to the vandalism that they've experienced, and that's just unfortunate, because we should all learn to live together and not be judgmental of others, so I think it's an important statement that, yes, we're here to speak up, stand up."
Thayer, in a rainbow scarf and bandana and an orange vest, was at the event to calm any conflicts that may have come.
"We get special training so we learn how to deescalate any squabbles that might come. We learn to recognize potential problems," she said. "Sometimes we do have some pretty strong protests, but this has been nothing but positive."
Thayer described the pop-up's atmosphere as, "Very excited. The horns are tooting, the people are jolly and they're picking up all kinds of swag."
"I think this is a great turnout for a very spontaneous rally," she said.
Indeed, Kayla Dickson, an Eastern Washington University student, said she was surprised at the amount of people at the event.
"Odyssey Center does really great things, so I know they really put the word out, and that's how I heard about it. But I think that there's a much larger number of queer people than people realize," she said.
Dickson was not aware of the string of vandalism that hit the area this month.
"That's super disappointing," she said.
Still, crowds on Perry Street were full of smiles and waving flags.