Orbitz Sent Three LGBT Activists on the Trip of a Lifetime
TRAVEL WITH PRIDE
Pride celebrations in America’s biggest cities garner the bulk of the buzz—but there are thousands of small festivals that happen all over the country. One of these is Anchorage PrideFest, the largest LGBT festival in Alaska with more than 9,000 attendees in 2018. For 42 years, it has provided a platform for LGBT expression in the Last Frontier thanks to Alaska’s leading LGBT advocacy and education organization, Identity, Inc. For nearly half of people who plan to travel less than 50 miles for Pride, events like these are just as important.
In celebration of Pride month, Orbitz rewarded the passionate team of volunteers at Identity Alaska with a cross-continent trip to Miami Beach Pride for a weekend of celebration and connection. Shelby Wilson, JJ Harrier, and Chris Barraza—all members of Identity's board of directors and committee chairs of the Anchorage PrideFest committee—flew round-trip to Miami to experience how Pride is done in a larger metropolitan area.
"Experiencing Pride on such a large scale was pretty profound,” said Harrier of the experience. “We were able to chat with Miami Beach Pride organizers and volunteers about their planning techniques and then implement some of those ideas into Anchorage Pride events.” Watch the activists’ journey below and visit Orbitz.com/Pride for a guide to plan your own LGBT travel for 2019 Pride festivities no matter where you are.