Capital City Pride

Mears Park, St. Paul, MN. (1997-1999)

Scandals have frequently arisen in Minnesota’s GLBT groups since the late 1960s—at times, these products of infighting spell doom for the organization.(1) However, the discord occasionally produces spinoff groups that offer similar services in a different fashion. Such is the case with Target City Coalition (Minneapolis counterpart to St. Paul Citizens for Human Rights), The Spirit of the Lakes United Church in Christ (once part of All God's Children MCC,) and the short-lived “Lesbian” Pride (once part of the Twin Cities Pride Festival).

Capital City Business Card, Courtesy of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection

The Twin Cities Pride Committee is, perhaps, extraordinary in this regard. The Committee makes many decisions that inspire contentious debate—the discussion topics range from corporate sponsorship to the use of fireworks. This debate focused on a new location for the Twin Cities Pride Festival in 1997—Loring Park was under renovation and unavailable.(2) The Twin Cities Pride Festival relocated to the southern tip of Nicollet Island and Northeast Minneapolis’ Main Street. Many St. Paul residents advocated moving the festival to the capital, but the Committee cited logistical problems in all available St. Paul parks.(3) Queer St. Paulites still felt the ramifications of a 1978 voter referendum (see: The St. Paul Hotel), and rejected Minneapolis as the center of queer life in the Twin Cities. Capital City Pride was born.

Fittingly, the new Capital City Pride Committee chose Mears Park—the site of TC Pride’s last St. Paul Festival in 1976. The festival seemed ready for success—with support from Rumours/Innuendo and a handful of other organizations—but a terrible storm drove away Pride-goers on either side of the Mississippi River.(4) In 1998, Capital City Pride returned to Mears Park with support from Lavender Magazine and Miss Richfield 1981. The event succeeded in its mission: “to serve, educate, motivate, and support the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community along with our heterosexual families and friends within St. Paul and its boundaries.”(5) This support proved to be insufficient; 1999 saw the last festival in Mears Park.

Miss Richfield 1981 on the Cover of the Capital City Pride Guide, 1998.

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(1) Tretter, Jean-Nickolaus. Interview with the author and Jacob Gentz, 1/16/09

(2) "GLBT Pride / TC Collection," 1997. The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.

(3) "GLBT Pride / TC Collection," Ibid.

(4) Tretter, Ibid.

(5) Capital City Pride Guide. Minneapolis: Lavender Magazine, Inc., 1998. Second page.

Part of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 100 Queer Places in Minnesota History, (1860-1969), (1969-2010)