Twin Cities Pride Picnic
This repeal ended the dispute; many queer St. Paul citizens moved across the river, and the capital city began its long struggle to redevelop a comparable GLBT community. For almost two decades, the Pride committee largely ignored its eastern neighbor.
The picnic reemerged during a revival of earlier pride events in the 1990s ,when a newly reorganized Pride committee sought to expand the event beyond the political realm. Ron Lischeid, a politically-active heterosexual ally from Minneapolis, spearheaded the effort for a family-friendly event in the capital. At first the event was not enough to rectify the Grand Old City’s hard feelings—as Capital City Pride attests—but the picnic has come to symbolize St. Paul’s queer life.
Typically held on a Father’s Day, the event is presently one of many that cater to GLBT families—once a rarity in the community.
This page is still under construction. -SVC
Part of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 100 Queer Places in Minnesota History, (1860-1969), (1969-2010)