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A parade and festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies returns this weekend after a three-year hiatus because of the COVID pandemic, with their excitement tempered by fear of protests over the event, organizers said.

“People are hungry for it,” said Holly Tobosa of Bellingham, a member of the Whatcom Youth Pride organizing committee, which scheduled several days of events leading to the parade and festival at Bellingham High on Saturday, June 4. “It’s top of mind, especially with all that’s going on (politically),” she told The Bellingham Herald at a Queer Youth Open Mic on Wednesday, June 1 — a Youth Pride event that had to move from its original location because of threats.

Saturday’s parade starts and ends at the corner of Halleck Street and Cornwall Avenue, across from Bellingham High. Parade kickoff is at 10:30 a.m. and the procession heads south on Cornwall to Flora Street, turns west to Commercial Street, turns north past the library and City Hall, angles north on Young Street and turns east on Halleck to the high school, where a festival is scheduled until 2 p.m. Food trucks will be at the school, and the festival features local community organizations, a drag show, a youth “maker space” and a queer youth art market, Whatcom Youth Pride said at its website.