A Pride Month of Celebrations

June 27, 2023

Pop Up Pride

On June 3^rd, we host­ed our sec­ond annu­al Pop Up Pride at Wood­field Mall. This event drew over 300 peo­ple in atten­dance across all ages. 

At Pop Up Pride, atten­dees engaged in con­ver­sa­tions about KYC ser­vices and resources, and par­tic­i­pat­ed in sev­er­al activ­i­ties. They devel­oped inclu­sive com­mu­ni­ty art projects, cel­e­brat­ed their indi­vid­u­al­i­ty with a pho­to area com­plete with dozens of LGBTQ+ iden­ti­ty flags, read LGBTQ+ lit­er­a­ture, and played games. 

Sev­er­al mall-goers shared this made their day and they were thrilled to come across such an inclu­sive pub­lic space!

North­west Pride Fest

Our LGBTQ+ Cen­ter pre­pares all year for this event! We love the oppor­tu­ni­ty to bring a large-scale Pride event to our local area. This ensures local LGBTQ+ peo­ple and allies have an acces­si­ble, sub­stance-free event for all ages that caters to the local community. 

This event drew over 800 peo­ple in atten­dance on June 10^th. We were grate­ful to host 30 ven­dors across a spec­trum of non-prof­its and local busi­ness­es includ­ing com­mu­ni­ty resource options, crafters, styl­ists, enter­tain­ment, and food vendors. 

Beyond the many engag­ing ven­dors, our stage was packed with won­der­ful musi­cians and Drag per­form­ers from begin­ning to end! Thank you so much to every­one who made this event acces­si­ble, safe, inclu­sive, and fun for all!

Q‑Tea: The Human Sto­ry Experience

On June 26^th, we host­ed our first Human Sto­ry Expe­ri­ence. We host­ed four queer pre­sen­ters, and each speak­er shared their expe­ri­ence as a queer per­son who cen­ters advo­ca­cy work. 

These pre­sen­ta­tions were held in small groups and high­light­ed areas such as HIV pre­ven­tion, advo­cat­ing for trans youth, and estab­lish­ing safe learn­ing envi­ron­ments. We held the event café-style with staff serv­ing tea, cof­fee, and refresh­ments throughout. 

Our atten­dees and speak­ers offered resound­ing sup­port for sim­i­lar future events that cen­ter the queer lived experience.

And So Much More!

In addi­tion to these events that we host­ed, we were grate­ful to have par­tic­i­pat­ed in sev­er­al oth­er events includ­ing col­lab­o­ra­tions with local busi­ness­es, libraries, and Town­ships. Check out a few pho­tos from the Buf­fa­lo Grove Pride Parade below!

Con­nect with our LGBTQ+ Center

Our LGBTQ+ Cen­ter offers youth pro­gram­ming, advo­ca­cy oppor­tu­ni­ties, pro­fes­sion­al train­ings, and com­mu­ni­ty events through­out the year. Learn more about our LGBTQ+ Cen­ter here.

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