Community Celebrates Keweenaw Pridefest

June is Pride Month worldwide, when non-binary people, their allies, families and friends, gather to celebrate openly and invite others to join them. Here at home, on the very first day of the month, crowds of people of all ages, gender identities and sexual orientations flocked to Hancock Beach to celebrate Keweenaw Pridefest. 

A colorful group gathers at the entrance to Pridefest. Photo courtesy Jennifer Donovan.

Music, food, community information tables and lawn games were on the menu. People dressed in rainbow colors, honoring the Pride community’s rainbow flag. One had even dyed her hair in brightly colored stripes. There was no admission fee, and everything was free except eats from a commercial food truck in the parking lot.

Pridefest is sponsored by Keweenaw Queers, a local collaborative that provides a home for non-binary people and their allies in our community.

Why the name Queer? “We chose that name because queer is how we self-identify,” said Emily Stanton, one of the organizers of the group and the event. In the past, queer was a pejorative, a slur to describe gay men. Recently, however, the LGBTQ+ community has adopted “queer” as an all-inclusive term that they use to self-identify.  “It’s an umbrella phrase,” she explained. “We want to be as inclusive as possible.”  

Young people—millennials and Generation Z—have embraced the term, Stanton said. “Some even prefer it.” There is some resistance among older people, and the public is just getting used to it, she admitted. But she believes it will become more and more accepted. 

This is the second year that Keweenaw Queers has held Pridefest in the Keweenaw. According to Stanton, it’s a celebration of being queer and overcoming adversity. “We need to celebrate the rights that queer people have earned,” she said. “We get to love each other in the open and be our true, authentic selves. We want this event to connect all the generations of queer people living in the Keweenaw Peninsula.” 

This year’s Pridefest drew hundreds of people to Hancock Beach. At 3 p.m., just halfway through the event, the head count was already up to 437.  Four bands were playing, and colorful booths featuring information and goodies from local organizations lined the winding path through the trees.

At a face-painting booth, children and adults alike acquired extra-rosy cheeks and brightly colored designs painted on their faces. People of all ages and sizes lined up for hugs at the Free Mom Hugs booth. Free Mom Hugs is a non-profit founded by a mother who had turned her back on her gay son, later coming to accept him and the LGBTQ+ community as she gave and received hugs at a Pride event. Free Mom Hugs now has chapters nationwide who work to help mend family relationships broken by a family member coming out. 

While members of Keweenaw Queers frantically tried to count heads, smiling people were milling around. Many waved little rainbow flags. Some were dancing and clapping to the music of Mr. Cesar & the Lucha Tones, Deep Fried Butterfly, Rat Bath and Bees! Bees! Bees! Bees! Bees! Bees!

Laura, who had colored her long hair in rainbow stripes, was hugging her friend Lesley.  Sherry was telling passersby, “It doesn’t matter who you love; it matters that you love.”

Nick from Laurium brought his three kids and their friends. Audrey was frantically trying to keep track of her two little ones, who were pumping the swings and dashing around the beach. Three young boys were walking—and falling off—a tightrope strung between two tall pine trees. Everyone was having fun. 

Keweenaw Pridefest is supported by businesses, organizations and individuals throughout the community. 

Everyone could get a hug at the Free Mom Hugs booth. Photo courtesy Jennifer Donovan.