This upcoming weekend, Marquette’s festival season kicks off with a celebration of our area’s LGBTQ+ population when PrideFest takes over Marquette’s Ellwood A. Mattson Lower Harbor Park.

The event is put on by Upper Peninsula Rainbow Pride, a Marquette-based nonprofit that is committed to creating a safe and supportive Upper Peninsula where LGBTQ+ individuals feel comfortable living as their authentic selves.

This year, PrideFest will offer a variety of activities for all ages to enjoy, such as lawn games, arts and crafts, SINGO (or playing bingo by guessing the song), 80 vendors, resource tables, food and drink, live musical performances, and two drag shows. The Open Stage Drag Show at 2:30 p.m. is family-friendly, and those interested in performing can still sign up to do so. The Drag Show at 8 p.m. comes with a parental advisory warning, and alcohol will be served beginning at 5 p.m.

While PrideFest is U.P. Rainbow Pride’s biggest event that they put on each year, Lex Exworthy, the Chair for U.P. Rainbow Pride’s Board of Directors, mentioned how they have a variety of events year-round, such as clothing swaps, arts and crafts events, and community potlucks. “We have added events year round free, open to the public, intergenerational events. We (have) kids all the way up to old folks at almost all of our events,” Exworthy commented. “We’re very proud of that, and we’d love to see more people.” In addition to having more fun-focused events in the community, Exworthy explained how the organization also works to provide safe spaces and bridge gaps in access to community resources. They said that U.P. Rainbow Pride doesn’t just collaborate with LGBTQ+ organizations like Equality Michigan, but also works with other groups that serve the wider population, such as healthcare organizations, mental health professionals, and the Women’s Center. Additional LGBTQ-friendly resources in the Upper Peninsula can be found online at uprainbowpride.org/findsupport.

While the current political climate may make it seem as if events like PrideFest are somehow controversial, it is important to remember that we are all much more alike than what separates us and events like PrideFest are a great reminder of that.

We encourage everyone to go out and support PrideFest and UPRP and help to create a better, more inclusive and friendlier community for everyone.