Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette The third annual Keweenaw Pridefest moved to the Calumet Colosseum this year to accommodate the growing number of attendees and provide indoor and outdoor activities.

CALUMET — Keweenaw Queers hosted the third annual Keweenaw Pridefest at the Calumet Colosseum Saturday. The theme of the event “Community Unity” was designed to celebrate and provide multiple resources to the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The event’s third year brought its third change of venue to accommodate the increase in attendees since its beginning in 2023.

Keweenaw Queers is a nonprofit organization which orchestrates and participates in community events such as local hikes, open mic nights, trivia nights and more. Pridefest is its largest event with the goal to bring people together in a gathering which LGBTQ+ individuals and others can interact with one another and learn about opportunities available in the area.

Keweenaw Queers President Emily Stanton said the free event provides the public space to gather and enjoy themselves. “We’re just trying to provide a free event for all to attend and just have a little fun in the Keweenaw,” Stanton said. “And that’s that’s why we will continue to keep this event free. We will continue to keep it non-vendor driven, so that it’s really about building community. It’s about just creating space and celebrating.”

The theme of community was showed in the Calumet Free Fridge donation drive where people could donate non perishable goods, toiletries, clothing, children’s toys and more. Another thematic feature of the event was the clothing swap where attendees exchanged pieces of clothing.

Stanton believes PrideFest is important to provide a space for belonging, especially younger individuals. “It gives a lot of, I think, younger people here hope, and it allows them to feel seen. Sometimes it can be so hard to be a queer young person, especially in a smaller area, and when they’re here, they can be their authentic selves,” Stanton said.

Keweenaw Queers Treasurer Katrina Linde-Moriarty agreed. “For me, I’ve come from bigger towns before, so I’m used to having these types of opportunities throughout June, and throughout the year. Copper Country has a lower population than many other parts of the country, and both members feel it is important to have a setting for Copper Country LGBTQ+ residents to gather. Stanton and Linde-Moriarty explained Pridefest is not exclusive for LGBTQ+ individuals, and open to everyone. Stanton also emphasized the growing size of such events throughout the U.P., saying for several years only Marquette and colleges such as Michigan Tech provided these types of gatherings.

“I think this area is is unique, because one: people who don’t live here, who aren’t Yoopers first come here because of Michigan Tech. Two: we have locals who have been here for generations, and it’s a mixing of those populations that I think makes it pretty unique. And there are queer people in both groups,” Stanton said.

The festival had donated food and water from the Keewenaw Co-op, games to play, live music, hobby booths and resource booths. Among the resource booths were services such as Copper Shores and faith based groups like the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Mirian Pickens of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship said the group was present to show those present there are faith communities that are welcoming and available to those interested. “We have done some activities that are open to everyone and we encourage our people to learn more about the LGBTQ issues that are happening,” Pickens said. “For example, we host the Transgender Day of Remembrance in our Fellowship. We try really hard to be as welcoming as possible.”

Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Youth Development Specialist Callisto Cortez was working at a resource booth to showcase the resources Copper Shores provides. Cortez gave out information on the foundation’s resources such as mental health services, educational health services and prevention.

“We also like to make sure that we give out our programming like Bridges, which is a really great program for people who want to become empowered and feel good in their lives,” Cortez said. “And then we also have our victim support advocates as well. If you’re a victim of sexual assault, we have those services for you. We just want to make sure that it’s known that we’re here to help everyone in our community.”

Copper Shores’ website, coppershores.org/resources, offers specific categories of health assistance, an including LGBT tab.

Linde-Moriarty explained the isolation some from the LGBTQ+ community feel will make them hesitant to reach out for these forms of assistance, hence the importance of their presence at the festival.

“When you feel like you lack resources, it’s hard to try to take care of your whole self, your mental health, your physical health and your intersection with community. And so by bringing the community partners in and saying, ‘Here are the people and here are your supports, year round,’ it just builds healthier communities all around for the Keweenaw in total,” Linde-Moriarty said.

More information, including upcoming events can be found at keweenawpridefest.org.