What started out as a small idea about celebrating our LGBTQ+ community in West St. Paul with just a gathering in a local park turned into a day filled with lunch for everyone, local businesses setting up tables, a bounce house, music, crafts, and so much more. It escalated bigtime. The best part was meeting our LGBTQ+ and ally neighbors that were just as excited to celebrate as we were to be there. It rained and poured, but we just got to know each other all crammed into pop tents and picnic shelters.

We knew we’d do it again in 2020! And then COVID hit. It was a hard decision, but we ultimately decided to cancel what we had planned in order to protect each other from a virus that didn’t quite have a vaccine yet.

And in 2021, we were back, and so happy vaccines were a thing and COVID cases were decreasing. Over 20 vendors signed up to represent their businesses and organizations at WSP Pride. We provided lunch to everyone again. And the weather realized WSP Pride was scheduled, so it rained the entire day. 

For 2022, we wanted to be somewhere more visible and more accessible, so we moved locations. We had 50+ vendors that spent time with us the whole day, welcomed some incredible entertainment, handed out over 400 hot dogs, and received our first major sponsorship.

It’s our hope to continue celebrating the LGBTQ+ folks that call West St. Paul home year after year. We love seeing folks from surrounding suburbs join us. We also really, really love that WSP Pride is a community event that keeps growing every year because doing everything in our power to create a safe space for everyone to gather.