The Saint Croix Valley will come alive with Pride during the “Queer Crawl.” The brainchild of UW-River Falls student, Savanna “Beau” Fair, the Queer Crawl provides visitors and locals with a road map to the local businesses and festivals that proudly welcome members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s exciting to see so many businesses coming up with fun events and offers to celebrate Pride,” said Fair. “With so much negativity in the world, we are thrilled to bring fun and rainbows to our beautiful Saint Croix Valley.”

In conjunctions with Hudson’s second annual Valley Wide Pride Festival on Saturday, June 22, the Queer Crawl expands Pride activities over the weekend to include engagement throughout the Saint Croix River Valley from Franconia to Afton during the third weekend in June.

With cities such as River Falls embracing Pride in a big way this year, the Queer Crawl highlights that communities outside of the major population centers are welcoming to LGBTQ+ people. On May 28, River Falls Mayor Dan Toland proclaimed June 2024 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the City of River Falls.

“Pride Month is a time to amplify the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, advocate for equal rights for all members, and honor the rich cultural and historical contributions made by LGBTQ+ individuals. . . We wholeheartedly embrace and celebrate our LGBTQ+ staff and community members.”

Some people have questioned why organizers would use the term “queer” for this event, but Fair explains it this way: “‘Queer’ used to be a slur that people used to ostracize and hurt people. In recent years, the LGBTQ+ community has embraced ‘queer’ as an inclusive term, someone who does not identify as a particular gender or sexual orientation. Anyone can identify as queer. It just means that you’re a part of our big, beautiful community.”

In Wisconsin, Minnesota and across the country, many towns and communities host “Beer Crawls” where bars and restaurants invite people to have a beer at multiple establishments.

“We wanted to include everyone so the ‘Queer Crawl’ is made up of family-friendly festivals, small businesses and fun activities in addition to offers by the bars and restaurants,” said Fair.

Check out the website at www.saintcroixpride.com for the events and offers that make up the Queer Crawl. Area businesses are encouraged to participate by creating their own events and offers.

A limited number of Queer Crawl buttons are being produced for the event and are available at the sites listed on the website while supplies last.

Submitted by Bridget Faricy, Saint Croix Pride / River Falls Pride