Keweenaw Pridefest

Keweenaw Pridefest is an annual June Pride event on the Keweenaw Peninsula, organized by the volunteer collective Keweenaw Queers. The group held its first Pridefest in 2023 and runs open mics, trivia nights, and other events through the year.

Keweenaw Queers began as a small group that started meeting informally in March 2023 with the goal of holding a public Pride event in the Houghton area. Word of mouth drew strong interest in that first Pridefest, and the collective, now a 501(c)(3), has held the festival every June since. Its members want the event to bring together every generation of queer people living on the Keweenaw Peninsula and to celebrate hard-won rights and the freedom to live openly.

Pridefest is a day in the park with local bands, entertainment and tables from local organizations sharing information and support. It is paid for by sponsoring businesses, organizations and individuals across the Keweenaw, along with a string of fundraisers. Past fundraisers have included an open house at BigGoat Farm with baby goats, music and food, an open mic with Kitschy Spirit Records, a trivia night at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock, and deep stretch yoga classes at Fresh Coast Yoga in Houghton.

Through the year the group also hosts a silent book club at Keweenaw Brewing Company in Houghton on the second and fourth Tuesdays, local hikes, film screenings such as Paris Is Burning with Wolf's Head Film, and outreach and giving-back events such as Trans Day of Remembrance. The collective uses the word queer as its own self-description, while acknowledging its history as a slur and that some people are not comfortable with it.

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.

Keweenaw Pridefest has included festival.

Keweenaw Pridefest was first held in 2023.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held June 6, 2026. It usually falls early June.