BEMIDJI — “It’s important because it’s a place where people get to see other LGBTQ people be in a brave space.”
That brave space Ben Cahill is talking about is the Third Annual Bemidji Pride event.
Bemidji Pride is put together by the Pride Support Network and Bemidji Pride Committee. The Pride Support Network is a grassroots organization made up of volunteers who help LGBTQ2S+ people with things like paying bills, workforce training, navigating health care and social service programs, and navigating legal systems.
Bemidji Pride has made some changes from past events. Included this year will be a family-friendly drag show at 5 p.m. Saturday, ASL interpreters at some of the events, and a drag brunch on Sunday.
“It’s important because it’s a place where people get to see other LGBTQ people be in a brave space."Ben Cahill
The weekend also includes concerts with Ada Vox and Dwa Brown and Foxby. Deja Duvalle hosts a drag brunch at 11:30 Sunday at the Rail River Folk School with local drag performers and food provided by Table for 7. The cover is $65, and the brunch is pajama party themed.
Check Bemidji Pride’s website for full event information.
In a conversation on the KAXE Morning Show, Cahill said, “Here in Bemidji, while we have a decent amount of LGBTQ and Two Spirit people, we don’t have our own place here. There’s no dedicated queer space. There're no gay bars, so we don’t always get the opportunity to come together and be together as a community and form those bonds and those tightknit structures that a lot of bigger cities may have.”
Cahill continued, “Pride is the one time of the year where we can all get together and get to know each other not only celebrate how far we’ve come and how much we’ve fought for what we have, but just get to know each other and feel like an actual community. And that’s what Pride is all about.”
Listen to the full interview with Ben Cahill above.
Area Voices is made possible by the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of MN.
