Vermontville Youth Pride

Vermontville Youth Pride is a Pride event for LGBTQ+ youth on Main Street in Vermontville, run by the nonprofit I'll Be Your Rock. It offers music, drag performances, games, vendors, resources, and free meal tickets for youth 19 and younger. The 2026 event was the fifth annual.

Vermontville Youth Pride is hosted by I'll Be Your Rock, a nonprofit supporting rural LGBTQ+ youth that Christine Terpening founded in Vermontville in January 2022. Christine came out later in life and, knowing the isolation and elevated risk of self-harm many LGBTQ+ young people face, set out to make a difference in her own community. The organizers bill the event as Michigan's original Pride dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth, with proceeds supporting the organization's work.

The event is geared toward teens, kids and families, with entertainment, games, vendors, food, resources, giveaways and dancing, along with a popular educator and I'll Be Your Rock board member who brings a bag of books. Local sponsors help cover a free meal ticket for every young person 19 and under.

I'll Be Your Rock started with one young person at its first meeting and grew quickly. It holds monthly meetings in Vermontville that draw youth from as far as an hour and a half away, runs a private online group for those who cannot attend in person, and checks in with young people between meetings to help with issues like bullying, food insecurity and coming out. It also supports parents and has begun forming chapters in other communities.

Youth Pride events are made for LGBTQ+ young people and their families, usually alcohol-free, with activities, performers and supportive community groups.

Vermontville Youth Pride has included youth events, music, drag performances, vendors and games.

Vermontville Youth Pride was first held in 2022.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held August 1, 2026. It usually falls early August.