ANOKA — Pride Month is in full swing! Brands are changing their social media icons, rainbow flags are draped from balconies in Loring Park and small towns are organizing historic first-ever Pride events.
That last item would surprise me if I hadn’t been raised in a small town. Historically speaking, major cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York have all been known to host colorful festivals celebrating love, while small little hamlets, often just on the outskirts, have nothing for their own residents.
This was the case on Saturday, June 8, 2024, for Anoka, Minnesota, a town about half an hour northwest of Minneapolis. Known as the Halloween Capitol of the World, Anoka has around 18,000 “relatively conservative” residents, according to Kelly Silbernagel, owner of River Yoga in Downtown Anoka and co-organizer of Anoka Pride Day.
“I’ll be really honest with you, this is a relatively conservative community, the North West Metro,” Silbernagel told to me at Anoka’s first-ever Pride event.
According to Silbernagel, Pride in Anoka was important to her and all other business owners attending because they wanted to provide a safe space in their community, and they did just that.
Nestled at the foot of the United Church of Christ on Main Street Square (how quaint can you get?), Anoka Pride Day was an intimate gathering that welcomed people from all over the Twin Cities Metro.
“We’re meeting a ton of people [because this Pride] is smaller,” Silbernagel said. “We get to interact and get to know people.”
Brooklyn Park resident Ameen Taahir, and his friend from Minneapolis, Damon Neathan, both attended Anoka’s first Pride event.
“Sometimes Minneapolis Pride can be overwhelming, and this is a nice, smaller scene to come and do something a little different,” Neathan said.
Taahir encouraged Neathan to join him for Anoka Pride Day because he wanted to explore other events that celebrate their community.
“I know there are different cities doing Pride, and I just want to come out and see how everyone celebrates it,” Taahir told me. “I work for the city of Brooklyn Park, so I like to take everything in and see what I can do in my city as well. I like to be within the community and get a feel for everything.”
According to Taahir, Brooklyn Park is a very diverse, family-oriented community mostly populated with people of color. Brooklyn Park has no Pride events, but Anoka has inspired him.
“It’s interesting how late [Brooklyn Park] is coming to certain things, but I think that it’s a growing, evolving community with a great opportunity to do something like this,” said Taahir.
Anoka resident Anastasia Press, who tabled a themed tarot card booth at the event, shared her excitement for the event with me.
“I’m so excited,” Press pressed. “I wanted there to be some kind of Pride event here for so long. It’s just fun to see so many people in the community come together.”
Press stated that the entire event was self-funded, unlike some major Pride events that draw in major corporate sponsors.
“I think it was all self-funded by the organizers, so I know they’re trying to make it bigger and better next year with a parade and even more stuff for people to do, so people can donate if they want to,” said Press.
“It was started by our comrades at Divine Lights and Amber at Meta Coffee, and they pulled in our marketplace, and myself,” Silbernagel, owner of River Yoga, explained. “There’s Yoga and a Soundbath in the basement of the church and Kris, the pastor of the church where we’re located. All of the booths and the folks that are here are here on volunteer time, and everything that you’re seeing was provided with our own funds.”
According to their Instagram, Anoka Pride Day’s mission is to celebrate love, unity and diversity in a supportive space that embraces all.
“It’s really true to our values and important to us to provide this safe space and to let the community know they’re supported here in Anoka,” Silbernagel continued. “If you go to Meta Coffee or Avant Garden, you’ll find a lot of highly supportive spaces, and we just want to put that message out into the world.”
Considering my own venture, I’m happy to report that they did just that. I have my own experience with hometown heartache and church hurt, and seeing a Pride event on an actual Main Street next to a church adorned in rainbows with its doors literally open was remedying. I sincerely felt something heal within. Minneapolis may have Twin Cities Pride Festival in Loring Park, but thank god Anoka has Pride Day in Main Street Square.
We just want to share the love and light.
Kelly Silbernagel
Anoka Pride Day hopes to grow larger next year and plans to add a parade for Main Street Anoka. You can follow Anoka Pride Day on Instagram and Facebook, and you can contact them via email here.
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