Golden Valley, Minn. to hold its own, privately-funded pride festival
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (KMSP) - The Twin Cities Pride Festival draws hundreds of thousands of people to Hennepin Avenue each summer, but a city just outside of Minneapolis has announced its own, privately-funded celebration.
In a news release, Golden Valley billed itself as “home to most gay couples” and will host a free, suburban pride festival on Sunday, June 12 at Brookview Park complete with music, food trucks, a bouncy house and community information booths.
"The Golden Valley Pride Festival was born out of a love for our city and an interest in celebrating the growing diversity we see in our community," said Peter Knaeble, Golden Valley Pride Festival committee chair. "Our small team of volunteers has worked tirelessly to create a premier family-friendly event to not only highlight our LGBTQ families, their friends and their allies, but also to foster a greater understanding of Golden Valley's diversity."
Event organizers said a nine-resident volunteer committee has been planning the festival since last fall.
According to census data from the Williams Institute at UCLA, more gay couples, married or unmarried, live Golden Valley than any other city in Minnesota. In the 2010 census, 22 out of every 1,000 Golden Valley households self-identified as gay.
Schedule, food truck lineup
10:30-11:45 - Interfaith service
12:00 - Festival kick-off
12:00-4:00 - Bouncy house, community booths, and food trucks open
Food trucks include:
-Bacon-Me-Crazy
-New Bohemia Wurst & Bier Haus - Golden Valley
-Nonna Rosa's Ristorante Italiano
12:00-12:45 - Musical performance by Outloud!, Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus
1:00-1:30 Keynote presentation by Phil Duran, Legal Director of OutFront Minnesota and Tom Knabel, Human Rights Campaign Board Member
1:45-2:45 - Musical performance by Freedom Jazz! Big Band from the Minnesota Freedom Band
3:00-4:00 - Musical performance by The Sons cover band