The event often includes participation from local businesses, drag queens, non-profits, churches, and politicians.
[2] According to a speech by state senator Diane Sands, the original 1993 pride movement faced harassment such as having eggs thrown at them, and then-city councilwoman and former Helena mayor Colleen McCarthy recounted the backlash from constituents that year, including a physical attack from two men who were stopped by police.
[3] Before 2004, yearly Pride events with political protests calling for equal rights for LGBTQ Montanans were organized primarily by the Montana Human Rights Network and happened yearly in the state capital and often in other cities.
The celebration was held in Missoula in 2004, Helena in 2005 and 2006, Billings in 2007 and 2008, Kalispell in 2009 and 2010, Bozeman in 2011 and 2012,[5] and Butte in 2013.
[9] After the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns,[10] the 2021 event was held in Helena, and it featured other nonprofit and human rights organizations and supportive speeches from Helena's mayor Wilmot Collins and state representative Moffie Funk.