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A half dozen folks in the Cook County Pride Community have been busy getting ready for the 2022 Pride Celebration since last June.
The big day in Cook County will be Saturday, June 4, but it’s just one day in a month long, no, a year-long celebration, said Lenna Stever-Sobanja.
Lenna, Benjamin Nichols, Matthew Baxley and Julisa Swader stopped by the newspaper to talk about what is taking place with CCPC, a loose-knit group with no hierarchy and no budget.
Nichols said the planning group was a collection of like-minded folks who are hoping to build friendships, inclusion and form a hub for people in the LGBT community and people who are friends.
When reaching out for help, the group found a long list of organizations and people willing to lend a hand.
Offering meeting space, materials, and supplies are several area churches, Cook County Higher Education, the Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais Library, Drury Lane Books, Violence Prevention Center, Cook County YMCA, some area businesses, and the Grand Portage Health and Human Services.
Benjamin Nichols hopes the 2022 Pride Celebration brings people together, noting there are ways to encourage folks to find common ground. For example, Nichols is a lover of nature, and he pointed out that almost everyone living here has a strong connection to nature. “We need to celebrate our likes,” he said, “Not our dislikes.”
How can we support other types of people? Asked Stever-Sobanja, “Didn’t Mahatma Gandhi say, “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single one, and its life will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
At the June 4 event, Julisa Swader will present the idea of the “Two-Spirit Community.” Swader said the term comes from the Native American culture and refers to people who have a male and female spirit living within them. This gift allows them to see and feel from both male and female perspectives. The Two-Spirit Community has existed for centuries among Native American and Canadian First Nations people. Still, even today, the Two-Spirit concept is a poorly understood concept by Western thinkers, she said.
On Saturday, June 4, events start at 11 a.m. in the YMCA exercise studio with dance practice. “You don’t need to be a Y member to participate,” said Stever-Sobanja.
From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. the Grand Marais Art Colony will host sign making at the new Studio 21 building. At 3 p.m., the Grand Marais Public Library is putting on an Alliance and Allyship program as they relate to the PRIDE celebration, located at Cook County Higher Education. The celebrations culminate at 5 p.m. with speakers, songs, dancing, and a march from Harbor Park through town.
A small bus that can hold 18-20 youth and adults will be coming from Grand Portage for the daylong events, Swader said. She said the bus would leave the Grand Portage Community Center at 2:20 p.m.
Baxley said an important goal of the day is to show that our community is a safe place for all people to be their authentic selves. “Whether someone is born here, a transplant, a band member, or a visitor, the celebration is a powerful tool to make our places, our county safe for all.”
A big goal of the celebration is to start a shift in the way some view people in the LGBTQ community. As Buddha said, “Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.” Jesus Christ put it simply, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
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