The city of Green Bay raised the Progress Pride flag at city hall in recognition of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, June 7, 2022. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A pop-up event for Green Bay’s LGBTQ+ community is coming in less than two weeks in response to another event being delayed.
At the Brown County Fairgrounds this past weekend, the annual NEW Pride Alive festival was supposed to be held, but just days ahead of it, organizers shared that, “In light of the increasingly charged political climate, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our upcoming Pride event.”
“When that was postponed, people were devastated,” said Tarl Knight, owner of The Tarlton Theatre. “Folks in our community are calling for another opportunity to celebrate, to be seen, to be visible.”
In response, “We Will Still Be Seen: A Pop-Up Pride” event will be held Oct. 4 in downtown Green Bay. A rally at noon at the CityDeck will kick things off. People will then walk to The Tarlton Theatre for a block party with music, performances, community resources, food trucks and more.
“There’s always risk, but we can take precautions and we can work with local government and local police departments in order to make sure we have a safe environment, a clean environment where people can still come together and celebrate,” said Knight.
Martha Marvel, president of Bay Area Council On Gender Diversity, was among those disappointed when NEW Pride announced its decision, but understood the reasoning.
“In previous Pride celebrations we’ve had protestors,” said Marvel. “Is it heightened? Probably, but is it heightened to the extent that we need to run and hide? No.”
On its Facebook page, NEW Pride Alive posted over the weekend it is actively finalizing an indoor venue and new date for its festival. Details will be announced very soon.
“We think it’s much more important to let our light shine, to proclaim who we are, we are here, and we’re not going any place,” said Marvel.
The pop-up event in two weeks will act as a fundraiser for Green Bay Pride, a two-day festival next June that has been in the works for several months.
“Ideally, we’ll have a beautiful outdoor green space that will also be red, orange, yellow, blue and purple,” said Knight.
More details, including a downtown location, are expected to come in the months ahead.
Green Bay has gone the last several years without a June Pride celebration, which is Pride month.
There used to be one at Joannes Park. The event planned for next June hopes to fill that void.
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