HOUSTON – In Montrose, people from different backgrounds and cities are preparing to celebrate.
“Everyone is just in town from Michigan for pride,” Derek Zander said.
To avoid the heat this year, Houston Pride Parade organizers decided to reroute the daytime festivities. They are asking people to go support restaurants and bars in the Montrose area before heading to the parade downtown which starts Saturday at 7 p.m. on Smith and Milam.
“We are certainly prepared,” Brent Taylor, Office of Emergency Management said. “Ready to go. We have all of our partners from police, EMS, Fire.”
The Houston Office of Emergency Management said focusing on a half day instead of the whole day helps.
“There will be officers who are in uniform,” Taylor said. “There will be officers who are not in uniform, multiple departments we coordinate with to make sure everybody is on the same page.”
Organizers said in total 26 agencies are involved in keeping the event running smoothly.
“If there are threats,” Taylor said. “If it was made on social media for example, that’s just a hypothetical there are resources that monitor those things, identify them and determine their credibility and act on them or necessary.”
Organizer of the parade Kendra Walker said their message is clear.
“This year’s pride parade is called all we need is love because love is the antidote to hate,” she said.
The parade will also have several cooling stations and busses available throughout the evening.