Pride Festival Celebrates Inclusivity

Saturday's festival at Bayfront Park was filled with smiles, plenty of music, and dancing.

DULUTH, Minn. – Thousands of people are in Duluth and Superior Labor Day Weekend celebrating Pride.

Saturday’s festival at Bayfront Park was filled with smiles, plenty of music, and dancing.

“Pride is about honoring everyone who made pride possible, pride is about being thankful for everything we accomplished, and pride is also about being hopeful for the future,” said Brent Kumor, who traveled from Omaha, Nebraska for the weekend.

This year, Pride weekend is remembering the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots where LGBTQ people rose up against police raids on a gay bar in New York City.

“There were riots just to live our lives and it kind of feels that way sometimes now and so this is a nice day to reflect that it’s not as bad as it once was it doesn’t mean it can’t get better and it doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do but it’s not as bad as it once was and we can embrace that and celebrate,” said Diana Fischer who is the co-chair of Duluth-Superior Pride.

The Duluth-Superior Pride Festival hosted more than 60 vendors including a new organization called Northland Allies.

It was founded after members saw a need in the community for outreach and to help people in need.

“We’re here to be an ally for people in the community who may not have their allies who may not have parents or friends to be there for them,” said Sheri Murray, a core member of Northland Allies.

Brent Kumor and his boyfriend have been to many Duluth-Superior Prides and he says the festival is a destination for them.

“The people in Duluth are warm and welcoming and friendly there are a lot of activities and it’s just a lot of fun and you can really get into the spirit of it and you can feel the diverse inclusivity of the moment it’s wonderful,” said Kumor.

Attendees say the weekend is all about love, acceptance, and people being themselves.

“If I could tell a younger version of myself any message at all it would be that things would be ok things will turn out,” said Kumor.

Pride continues on Sunday with the Pride parade down Tower Avenue in Superior.