South Central Minnesota Pridefest

Last weekend (September 7-8, 2007) was South Central Minnesota Pridefest in Mankato, Minn, and it was a good example of how much fun small town Prides can be. With a long list of sponsors, the Pridefest had quite a bit of support from the area. Top tier sponsors included: LGBT Center at MSU Mankato, J.L. Swanson Chartered, CPA, Mankato Tent & Awning, City of Mankato, MSU Women's Center, Pub 500, Phillip Voight, and Jeanne Myron

Pub 500, a major sponsor of the events, hosted a karaoke contest Friday night. On Saturday morning, somewhere around 100 people lined Riverfront Drive, the main drag in Mankato, to watch the parade. While brief, the parade was lively. "Very touching display of Pride," said Aaron Brosier of Minneapolis. "It was one parade with two banners, three convertibles, and four drag queens. It was just perfect for Mankato."

Organizations such as OutFront Minnesota, Minnesota Athiests, SAGE, and PFLAG marched down Riverfront with a police escort on one lane of the drive. The other three lanes of Riverfront remained open to traffic.

Later that afternoon, several hundred people met for a festival in the lower part of Sibley Park, and area nestled into a hillside with a bandshell in the center. About 20 vendors lined the pathway and about a dozen entertainers took the stage. SCMN Pridefest also celebrated its first beer tent. Folk music, belly dancers, a drag contest, and Minneapolis band Sick of Sarah provided the entertainment for the afternoon.

After the festival, Pub 500 hosted a patio party, and then Pride-goers were off to the Pride dance party at the VFW where drag queen Gosh Alice Jones took the prize as Miss SCMN Pride. A mix of hip-hop and music from the 1980s provided for a mostly lesbian dance-party. (Lesbians out-numbered other Pride goers by a vast majority.)

Mankato resident Gerry said, "The Mankato Pride Fest weekend gives LGBT community a chance to let loose and have a good time with out having to go out of town. It provides an environment where you can just be yourself."