Celebrate Pride St. Paul happening on Sunday

Those who identify as LGBTQ or as allies are encouraged to come out to Reunion Station this Sunday.

Celebrate Pride St. Paul is celebrating Pride Month with an afternoon of activities. Volunteer organizer Lynda Young hopes they can build off of the success the group had in 2019, when they had their inaugural event.

“It was very welcomed, well-received, and well attended. And we wanted to keep the event going, because it is a great way to promote diversity and acceptance, and spread the message of anti-bullying in our community,” said Young. 

“We have been working very hard at getting the word out and connecting with different community organizations as well as local businesses. We have received an overwhelmingly positive amount of support from people in the area, as well as businesses. And we are also looking forward to having a number of dignitaries attend the event, and we are very honored to be having them.” 

While speeches begin at 1:00pm, the main portion begins shortly after. A panel of LGBTQ individuals will talk about their experiences with the theme of ‘Living Proudly.’ It is followed by a Q&A in hopes to dispel myths about what it means to be LGBTQ.

“People want to be people and people want to feel human. Sometimes you don’t know how to be that if you don’t understand and I think that an event like that will help people understand each other and hopefully build a stronger community,” said Young. 

“Sometimes people can feel unheard or unseen or ostracized because of misunderstanding. And events like this helps to reach out — how to build bridges, how to build community, and I think that is very important.” 

This is a family-friendly event that everyone is welcome to attend, while being a safe space for guests.

On top of the panel, there will be several interactive booths set up, a reading corner, music, as well as refreshments and snacks.

“There are people that are coming up to thank us for giving our time for this work. I think this means a lot to a lot of people.”