Houston Pride Festivals Go to War Against Porta Potties

According to a participant in the 2023 Houston Gay Pride Parade, the lack of toilets meant she and others were forced to relieve themselves in nearby bushes.

“The whole place stank of urine,” said Diana Sims, who was watching the parade near Walker Street with a group of friends. “I was in the military. I’m used to unpleasant facilities. Everything smelled like latrines.

Accusations of improper toilet facilities are just the latest in the salvo of Gay Pride Parade drama. A new LGBTQIA+ organization, New Faces of Pride, is holding its own parade on June 22, a week before longtime Houston hosts Pride Houston 365 hold theirs on June 29. Bryan Cotton, president of New Faces of Pride, accused Pride Houston 365 of corrupt management and trying to create a monopoly on LGBT pride events in the city.

“A lot of things have fallen apart over the last few years, which is why we are here with a team that knows how to take care of things,” Cotton said in an email.

Sims says that while she attended the parade, she was unable to find a portable toilet. When she asked the officers who were providing security, they told her they were using nearby restaurants because they didn’t think there were portable toilets nearby. When these businesses closed, the police began using the bushes.

“A policewoman asked us about the toilets,” says Sims. “I pointed to the bushes and offered to hold him a towel.”

“That’s not true,” Pride Houston 365 President Kendra Walker said when asked why there were no restrooms.

The Mayor’s Office of Special Events says gatherings must provide portable restrooms. One person for every 300 is acceptable, and 10 percent of those must be ADA compliant. Houston Gay Pride reportedly attracted 500,000 people last year.

“The city is required to have portable toilets,” Walker says. “It’s not like we just can’t have them.”

According to Walker, there was a problem obtaining portable toilets for the 2023 parade. Pride Houston 365 ordered their supply through the Nation Waste company. Maps and images provided by Walker to the Chronicle show that groups of three pots were to be placed in six different locations between City Hall and the intersection of Taft and Allen Parkway. These had to be delivered before 5 a.m.

Nation Waste declined to comment on the matter, but Walker says it delivered only half of the total order. Additionally, delivery was late, with units arriving between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. This left Pride Houston 365 no choice but to continue with what they had.

“Honestly, there was nothing we could do about it,” she said. “We can’t order pots at the last minute.”

When asked why police weren’t much help in guiding participants like Sims to available portable toilets, she said police often weren’t the best source of information.

“I can’t explain what it’s like for the cops,” she said. “They coordinate security. You can literally ask the cop where the stand is, and he won’t know. They should know because they’re giving them our plan.

Walker has taken steps to ensure there will be no repeat of last year. Although Pride Houston 365 will get a refund for the undelivered restroom and partially reimburse them for the rest due to the inconvenience, they will no longer use Nation Waste.

New Faces of Pride parade chairman Dustin Sheffield won’t either, saying the new organization is still accepting offers for portable toilets, but Nation Waste is not on the list.

“Outside the city that requests it, we (also provide toilets) out of respect for the buildings around,” he said. “We don’t want anyone doing this to buildings. We want to respect the city. We’re trying to bring back some of the old standards that a lot of us had. To make everything go more smoothly. »

As for Sims, she’s heartened to learn that fashion shows take bathroom access seriously. A veteran, she sometimes has to use a cane due to an old injury and cannot walk long distances in search of a toilet. She had originally planned not to participate in either parade this year, but Walker’s acknowledgment of last year’s shortage and his promise to remedy it changed her mind.

“I’m happy to know they’re trying to improve,” she said.