In most communities around the country, Pride celebrations happen in June. But here in northern Michigan, they tend to happen in the fall.
By this time of year, the busy summer tourism season is winding down. The Mackinac Island Pride Festival begins today and runs through the weekend.
Listen to the conversation using the audio player above or read highights below.
Upcoming Pride events
Mackinac Island Pride - Sept. 11 - 14
Up North Pride, Traverse City - Sept. 23 - 27
Interview highlights
On how the festival has changed: "The biggest thing that we have noticed in the four years we've been holding this festival is our attendance. We see a lot more unfamiliar faces in the past couple years compared to that first year when we started, in 2022. We're thrilled for that."
On the climate right now for LGBTQ+ people: "It is certainly disheartening for an organization like ours to be working to do the work we want to do and serve the queer community in our area and support one another. We do experience that feeling of negativity and those clouds over us. One of the big tenets of our organziation, in our mission, is to focus on the work we can do here at home and to support our communities we are in, and we see every day. It's a delicate balance for sure. This is an opportunity to acknowledge that and take a moment to celebrate the goodness we can balance that out with."
On what people should take away from events this weekend: "We hope they take away love and a sense of belonging and fun. There is a lot of negativity and there is a lot of hurt within our community coming from all sorts of sources, and that kind of can fester. But our festival is about celebrating that love that we've built as a community. We hope people can take that away with them and they can feel empowered to continue the good fight for LGTBQ+ rights here in the Straits area and at home wherever they might be visiting us from, and feel that fire again."
