Sylva Pride will march downtown again — so long as the organization splits the costs of shutting down the street with the town’s government.
After two years without a downtown parade, the nonprofit secured an agreement to bring it back at a July 23 Sylva Board of Commissioners meeting.
Commissioners voted 2-1 to approve a two-block road closure, with Sylva Pride and the town each covering $1,140 of the associated costs. Town Manager Paige Dowling told BPR the estimate accounts for four hours of overtime work by eight town employees who have to install barricades and sometimes remove vehicles from the street.
Commissioner Sam McGuire framed the decision as an opportunity to define Sylva as a more welcoming and respectful place.
“I think we have an opportunity here to show Sylva as a model [for] how mountain towns can handle disagreements, respect freedoms, protect our neighbors and work through disagreements,” he told BPR. “I really do not want Sylva to be a cautionary tale of what not to do. I think we can be a model town here.”
Commissioner Perry Matthews cast the second vote in favor of the permit. Blitz Estridge was the sole commissioner to vote against it, while the two other commissioners were both absent.
The approval marks a reversal from 2024, when commissioners denied Sylva Pride’s road closure request in a 3-1 vote, citing concerns about safety and the costs associated with the road closure.
The denial sparked months of protest and criticism. Some supporters organized an unsanctioned march before ultimately calling it off. The annual pride festival continued at Bridge Park, but without a parade component.
Ben Ogletree, a Sylva Pride board member, told BPR that the organization instead focused on “maintaining positive relationships” with as many local lawmakers as possible.
“But I think the biggest change has come from the community itself,” Ogletree said. “Voters recently elected more advocates for Pride, and for parades in general.”
The 2025 election brought two new commissioners onto the board – Perry Matthews and Sam McGuire – who had publicly supported restoring the parade.
Paige LeBlanc, another Sylva Pride organizer, was a student at Western Carolina University when the parade permit was denied.
“From the day that decision came down, it was really strongly decried by those of us who lived here,” she said. “And there was never really a possibility of us forgetting about it.”
Now, she’s freshly graduated and excited about the chance to march down Main Street.
“You're going to see a lot of smiles. You're going to see a lot of families. A lot of young people there, children, college students and a lot of queer elders there as well,” she said. “I think it's going to be a really beautiful co-mingling of the generations and of people from different walks of life, and I'm so excited for it.”
The parade is scheduled for Sept. 20 in downtown Sylva. It will be held alongside Sylva Pride’s annual festival at Bridge Park.
