For Open Door Pride’s Cathy Grier, Pride Month is about being h-u-m-a-n as much as it means being LGBTQ+. Organizations like Open Door Pride, Northern Door Pride, and PFLAG take time during June to celebrate Pride Month, commemorating the Stonewall Uprising in New York City in 1969. One year later, the first Pride marches took place in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, setting the stage over the next 50+ years for smaller celebrations across the country, including in Sister Bay and Sturgeon Bay. Earlier this month, the Town of Baileys Harbor, the Village of Sister Bay, and the City of Sturgeon Bay issued proclamations recognizing June as Pride Month. One of the newer additions to Door County’s Pride Month celebrations is the What’s My Pride? Project hosted by Open Door Pride and the Articipation Gallery in Sturgeon Bay. With a chalkboard and an old iPhone, residents and visitors can add their selfie to a collection of photos of people sharing what pride means to them. Grier says it is a powerful display of support for the LGBTQ+ community in Door County, whether you are gay, straight, or otherwise.

Open Door Pride will have a consistent presence at the Sturgeon Bay Farmers Market throughout June, leading to the 9th annual Open Door Pride Festival on June 28th. Northern Door Pride will host its fifth annual Pride Fest at the Sister Bay Village Hall on June 17th. You can listen to Grier on the Faces of the Farmers Market podcast sponsored by Destination Sturgeon Bay by clicking this link.