Brainerd Lakes Pride in the Park

Pride in the Park in Brainerd is organized by The Sowing Room, a north central Minnesota inclusion nonprofit, with Brainerd Lakes Pride. The event is held at Gregory Park and brings together vendors, sponsors and community partners.

The Sowing Room started as a newsletter and website and grew, through outreach and conversation, into a grassroots organization. It supports projects and programs meant to build belonging for people who live in North Central Minnesota and those just discovering it, with a focus on opening pathways for under-represented people and cultural communities in rural places. Its founding board members have served since 2024.

Beyond Pride in the Park, the organization offers Safe Zone trainings, workshops on LGBTQ+ identities, gender and sexuality, and on prejudice, assumptions and privilege. The trainings are meant for straight and cisgender allies and for LGBTQ+ people who want to deepen their own understanding, and the group encourages workplaces to train their staff rather than simply label themselves a Safe Zone. Central Lakes College was among the 2026 sponsors.

Pride events celebrate LGBTQ+ people and mark the Stonewall uprising of June 1969. Most combine a parade or march with a festival of performers, community groups, vendors and food.

Brainerd Lakes Pride in the Park has included pride in the park and vendors.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held September 12, 2026. It usually falls second Saturday in September.