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sandy karim red Rainy conditions couldn’t stop the rainbows at this year’s Elgin Pride Parade Rainbows in every shape and form, including balloons and umbrellas, brightened the gloomy, rainy skies of downtown Elgin Saturday as the city celebrated Pride Month with a parade and festival embracing its LGBTQ+ community. Keyera Freund, 19, of Elgin, braved the less-than-ideal conditions to find the perfect spot along the parade route with friends. “I love it. It’s really cool,” she said. “As a kid, I would think no one was ever going to support me. But this has made me feel like people do.” The second annual Elgin Pride Parade and Festival was organized by the nonprofit ELGbtq+. Last year’s inaugural events were deemed a huge success, drawing about 4,000 people downtown and to Festival Park. Open Door Health Center of Elgin’s colorful float in Saturday’s downtown Elgin Pride Parade was decorated with rainbow-colored balloons and butterflies. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News) Despite smalle

Models with singers A Selena impersonator waves to the Elgin Pride Parade crowd Saturday from a float sponsored by the newly opened El Patio restaurant in downtown Elgin. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News) “We’re excited to get the word out that we are here,” said Angela, who declined to give her last name. Parents sometimes need support when their child comes out, Angela said. “We did that journey. It can be lonely and isolating” without the help of others who have gone through same adjustment, she said. The banner carried by members of First United Methodist Church of Elgin read “Color the World with Love,” and one congregation member offered hugs to people along the parade route. ... ... Christina Heald and her boyfriend, David Smalec, visiting the area from Texarkana, Texas, said they wouldn’t let a little rain Saturday stop them from attending the downtown Elgin Pride Parade. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News) It was one of many churches and youth groups who decided to take part in t

sandy dancer image new ... ... "Art About Agriculture," through June 26, Giustina Gallery, LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St., Corvallis. The 41st annual competition and touring exhibition presents juried selections by Pacific Northwest artists highlighting the lifeblood of the region's agricultural diversity, economy, communities and cultures: our natural resources. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Free. Our podcast, A Place to Sleep, explores how Oregon cities are responding to a new law that is meant to provide homeless individuals a place to rest. "Bringing the World Together: Paintings, Prints & Panels by Betty LaDuke," through July 13, Philomath Museum, 1101 Main St. This retrospective art exhibition focuses on social justice from multiple perspectives, with colorful, elaborate totems and turtles carrying messages of resilience. The pieces were created between 1972 and 2023. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturda