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The first AIDS Walk Northwest took place in 1985—just a few years after AIDS was first identified and the same year Cascade AIDS Project formally incorporated.
A lot has changed in the years since. For those with access to the right medications, HIV can become undetectable. Earlier this year, researchers at Oregon Health & Sciences University published a study showing that a three-pronged treatment cleared HIV in infant rhesus macaques, suggesting a one-time cure is within reach. But there’s plenty of bad news. More than 1,700 treatment sites funded by USAID’s global HIV/AIDS treatment program, PEPFAR, have closed due to federal cuts. Closer to home, CAP Northwest—Cascade AIDS Project formally rebranded in July—lost a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-funded community-based grant to reach populations at highest risk for new infections, according to spokesperson Erika Harris.
This year’s event—which takes place Sept. 19 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park—is themed “All Walks of Life,” and part of the idea is to celebrate the progress AIDS advocates have made, while also fundraising to continue CAP Northwest’s services. (According to Harris, as of Sept. 17 just under 1,000 people had pledged about $217,000 toward CAP Northwest’s $300,000 goal.)
“Care, dignity, access —those are all policy choices, and right now the policies are not supporting those,” Harris tells WW.
Last year about 700 people attended, Harris says. This year organizers expect anywhere from 550 to 800 people to participate in the walk.
Featured speakers at this year’s event include CAP Northwest CEO Kevin Bumatay as well as Portland icon Poison Waters and Miss Coco Peru—a New York-based drag performer known for her roles in the 1999 independent film Trick and the much-loved To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar. (Peru will also perform her show, Fucq This Shit!, at The Armory on Sunday, Sept. 20—also a benefit for CAP Northwest.)
This year’s event includes two routes,one of which is shorter and intended to be more accessible to those with limited mobility. There will also be an information booth and food trucks along the walk route, Harris says.
In addition to funding cuts, Harris says organizers are concerned about the rise in misinformation that “erodes trust in public health.” That includes a pernicious and recently resurfaced conspiracy theory that HIV and AIDS are unrelated (thanks, Joe Rogan!).
“Misinformation was what impacted our community in the ‘80s and ‘90s and it’s back,” Harris says. “There’s impact when the narrative erodes trust in public health.”
GO: AIDS Walk Northwest at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 98 SW Naito Pkwy. aidswalknorthwest.org. 10 am Saturday, Sept. 19. Free.
SEE IT: Miss Coco Peru’s Fucq This Shit!, 128 NW 11th Ave., 503-445-3700, pcs.org/events/miss-coco-peru-presents-fucq-this-sh-t, 7-8:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20. $25 general admission, $80 VIP meet and greet.
