Up North Pride Week

Up North Pride is a Traverse City nonprofit that holds a Pride Week for northern Michigan. The 2026 week included a Visibility March and a drag show, both led by Silky Nutmeg Ganache, with VIP meet-and-greet tickets.

Up North Pride began in 2014, when a mother of four asked why Traverse City had no Pride festival and said she wanted to raise her children in a community that celebrated diversity. With support from Gary and Allison Jonas, owners of The Little Fleet, founders Jonny Cameron, Elon Cameron and Marta Turnbull organized a Visibility March on downtown sidewalks followed by a small gathering at The Little Fleet.

The march has since become the largest participant-driven LGBTQ+ Pride march in Michigan, drawing more than 8,000 people each year, and the organization has become a leading voice for LGBTQ+ advocacy in northern Michigan. Its mission is to build inclusive spaces through education and resources, activism and advocacy, and community events for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

The group has moved out of its former space on East Eighth Street, and its programs continue at locations around the region. It maintains a resource directory of local businesses and acknowledges the Anishinaabe people as the original custodians of the land.

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.

Up North Pride Week has included visibility march and drag show.

The next edition is September 22-26, 2026. It usually falls a Pride Week in late September.