The first Northwoods Pride was a picnic at a local park hosted by the Nicolet College LGBTQ+ student organization.
Now, it’s a six-hour long festival that includes live music, food trucks, art, an open mic, and, Pride Organizer Di Wu’s favorite part, the resources fair.
“I like every part of it, but to me I really like the resource fair because it's just bringing all the local nonprofit or small business owners and different services to the LGBTQ community in the one spot such as mental health, physical health, artists, you name it,” said Wu. “They just give a lot of great free giveaways to participants, and they also present. We have so many great resources in the Northwoods for the LGBTQ community.”
New this year, Kat and the Hurricane, a queer-led indie rock band from Madison will be performing at Pride.
Wu says the festival has gotten bigger each year and keeps building meaningful relationships with different businesses and non-profits in the Northwoods.
“I think this is a very important event to showcase that even though we are in the Northwoods, in the rural area, we still have tons of support and love from our friends and family of LGBTQ communities who are willing to support us unconditionally,” said Wu. “Hopefully this just will bring more belonging and hope and the visibility to this community.”
The Northwoods Pride Festival is Saturday, June 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at ArtStart in downtown Rhinelander.
Admission is free.
You can find a link to more details on the Northwoods Pride Festival website.
“Just bring a good mood, open mind, and just enjoy the vibe and beautiful weather,” said Wu.
Editor's note: WXPR is a sponsor of this event.
