PRIDE in a Small Town

I haven’t lived there in more than 32 years, but today I am so very PROUD to share the PRIDE that I have in my hometown of St. Johns, Michigan. This weekend, the small, rural, Midwestern, agricultural town where I grew up (population 7920,) hosted their second annual PRIDEFEST!

I was 2300 miles away at my home in the suburban Seattle area, but from what I gather from reading posts on social media, and from talking to friends who still live in the area, it was a hit! I understood from speaking to some of the organizers, that last year’s inaugural event drew an unexpectedly high number of around 350 participants, thanks largely to the work being done by the St. Johns Call-In Coalition. The grassroots group was created during the pandemic with a focus on building “a more inclusive, healthier and safer community.” For the first PRIDE event, merchants and attendees painted windows of downtown businesses, and used chalk to write colorful, inclusive messages. It was generally considered to be quite a successful occasion.