Twin Ports celebrates 37 years of pride
DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - The 37th annual Duluth-Superior Pride Festival began Thursday in the Twin Ports with events that include everything from art exhibits to drag shows.
The main event is the festival held at Bayfront on Saturday.
Attendees young and old enjoy live performances, local vendors, and meeting each other.
“One of the reasons why I am here today is to introduce myself to people and network, you know, and grow the community,” said Diane Saunders, a transgender author and community rights activist.
After moving from Duluth to Florida in 2020, Saunders returned north.
“Duluth is a very diverse community and people recognize that,” said Saunders. “We all need to be able to live together and respect and dignify everybody’s lives.”
With over 10,000 attendees and hundreds of vendors, the pride festival is not an easy event to coordinate.
Event staff said what it can do for the community makes all of the hard work worth it.
“We hear so many stories of people who felt alone and then they come to the pride event and they realize there’s so many of us and we’re all in the same community,” said Abby Gannon, festival co-chair and treasurer.
The festival is a celebration but also an opportunity to be visibly present.
“Seeing people like myself, and everybody else that’s around here today and know that we are community members, we are productive citizens, we have families, we have children, and that’s all we want in life just like anybody else,” said Saunders.
The events continue throughout the weekend and end on Monday.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2023
- Pride Church Service
- Breakfast at 9:30am, Worship at 10:30am
- Pilgrim Congregational Church
- Drag Me to The Pride Parade
- 12pm/Noon (free)
- Tower Avenue, Superior WI
- DSPride Family Gathering - Potluck
- 1pm-4pm, Billings Park, Superior
- Foo Foo Choo Choo & Preboarding Party
- 2pm Pre-party begins, 3:30pm Train Departs
- Annual Drag Show
- 9pm-12am, The Main Club
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2023
- Flower Essences for LGBTQIA2S+ Liberation
- 10am-12pm, Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace
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