St. Cloud to hold gay pride festival

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — St. Cloud joins other Minnesota cities in holding its first gay pride festival this weekend.

Minneapolis, Rochester, Duluth and Mankato have held festivals for the gay and lesbian community for years.

With this being St. Cloud's first year, spokeswoman Heidi Aldes says it's hard to know what to expect for attendance. But, she says in many ways the event is already a success, and support from the city, community organizations, local businesses and St. Cloud State University has been great.

Aldes tells WJON-AM the ultimate goal of St. Cloud Pridefest is to create a welcoming environment all year long for the gay community in St. Cloud.

Events include a family day at Lake George on Saturday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., and a drag show and dance at the Red Carpet on Saturday starting at 7 p.m.

___

Online:

http://www.stcloudpride.org

http://www.centralmngab.org

Tags: daily updates, st cloud, minnesota, gay, pride