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Pine City makes LGBTQ Pride history
Pine City is making Pride history with the first LGBTQ historical landmark in the state. FOX 9's Maury Glover has the story.
PINE CITY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A small town in Minnesota is making history with a new marker that celebrates its role in the rural LGBTQ Pride movement.
Historic recognition for rural LGBTQ Pride in Pine City
What we know:
Organizers in Pine City say a new historical marker at Voyageur Park will be the first of its kind in the country, recognizing the launch of East Central Minnesota Pride.
The marker is set along the banks of the Snake River, near a redwood-carved statue that nods to Pine City’s logging and trapping past.
"This will be the first LGBTQ historical marker in the state. I'm excited. I think it's taken us a long time to get to this point," Aaron Bombard, president of East Central Minnesota Pride, told FOX 9.
The first picnic took place in 2005 and drew between 50 to 70 people. Organizers believe it was the first rural LGBTQ Pride celebration not just in Minnesota, but in the entire country.
"It is OK if this is who you are and there is a community here for you. You don't have to leave. For a long time, all across America, people just come out, and they flee to a bigger city, and you don't need to do that here," Bombard said.
Today, the annual event attracts about 3,500 people and has inspired roughly 200 other rural Pride events across the United States.
The backstory:
East Central Minnesota Pride and the Minnesota Historical Society worked together to install the marker, honoring the spot where the rural Pride movement began.
Bombard reflected on the significance, saying, "To know that this is home and this is the birthplace of the rural Pride movement, and I've gotten to be a part of that now for the last five years. It's pretty meaningful to see this go up."
The annual Pride in the Park celebration in Pine County and the surrounding communities is just a couple of weeks away. Organizers say commemorating the movement’s beginnings is the perfect way to look to the future.
"These events that occur in rural communities spark the conversation of broader America and how we learn to be accepting, right?" Bombard said.
Dedication ceremony
Why you should care:
The public dedication ceremony for the historical marker will take place on Thursday. Speakers will include the mayor of Pine City, who is the only openly gay mayor in Minnesota, and the head of Twin Cities Pride.
Organizers hope the marker and the event will continue to inspire acceptance and community in rural areas, showing that LGBTQ people do not have to leave their hometowns to find support.
Local perspective:
While Twin Cities Pride draws half a million people to Minneapolis every year, Pine City’s celebration demonstrates the impact and importance of rural Pride events.
The growth from a small picnic to a large annual gathering highlights changing attitudes and the power of community.
The annual event has become a point of pride for Pine City and the region, helping to foster acceptance and visibility for LGBTQ people in rural Minnesota.