Pride event draws 2,000 in Grand Rapids — and complaints to City Council

DULUTH — Grand Rapids held its first Itasca Pride event last weekend without much interference from a dozen or so protesters holding a counter “straight pride” event, but detractors followed up at a City Council meeting to complain that “children were groomed” and ask that the event not be held again.

Itasca Pride, an 8-hour celebration of the LGBTQ community held last Saturday in the center of the northern Minnesota city, included music, vendors and a drag show and drew about 2,000 attendees, primarily from the immediate area according to organizers. Its opponents stuck mostly to the fringe, where they called out Bible verses and took photos.

“It seems like a broken record of bullying and hate and a misrepresentation of Christianity,” said Janet Miller, a Pride organizer who worked a main tent at the event.

The protestors were part of an event described on Facebook as “Protect the children from Pride/Drag show & Walk with Prayer.” According to the details, attendees of the counter event planned to walk downtown “to be a shield for the children” and promote heterosexual relationships.

About a dozen people addressed the City Council during the public forum part of Monday’s meeting, sharing photographs from the event, describing scenes of condom and Narcan distribution, talking about the tears they shed afterward and quoting Bible verses. Most used their allotted five-minute time limit, to which council members do not respond during the meeting.

Stephanie Lipscy, opposed to Itasca Pride, said she was appalled and disturbed to see that the city and county supported the “child abuse that went on yesterday at Central School.”

“Our own police department stood and watched as children were groomed, sexually exploited and opposers were stepped on, harassed, pushed and assaulted,” she said.

In response, Miller said some attendees used flags and signs to block protesters’ cameras, preventing them from recording children at the event.

Council Member Rick Blade missed Monday’s meeting and the Pride event for a fishing trip but said the same people have been speaking at these meetings for a while.

“One of my goals is to make Grand Rapids a more welcoming place,” he said. “I took an oath of office to support the Constitution of the United States and the state of Minnesota. Human rights is part of that.”

Miller described Itasca Pride as a success and said organizers haven’t yet debriefed. They do plan to hold the event again next year, but with more water stations and mental health support for attendees.

“It felt honestly amazing to see our community come together,” she said. “You never know how big a community is until you gather it in one place.”

In April, 40-some supporters flooded a meeting of the city’s Human Rights Commission to introduce the new Itasca Pride nonprofit organization and share details about the event in the wake of a small online campaign against it.