June is National Pride Month, and the local organization Loud and Proud is hosting a series of events, including a week full of festivities June 18-24. The festivities have grown significantly since the inaugural event in 2014. “It was a one-day event, a visibility stroll,” says Jenn Cameron, one of the co-founders of Loud and Proud and the events, now collectively known as Up North Pride. “We had 200-ish people.”
 
The next year, participation grew to around 1,200, and the number has continued to swell. “We had around 3,000 people the last couple years,” Cameron says. “It’s grassroots-driven. We are the largest participant-driven (event) in the state, possibly the Midwest. It’s something I’m really proud of.”
 
“Chicago has a big (parade), floats, the whole deal. But it’s over-commercial. I think there’s something lost.”
 
The slate of activities begins June 1 at Rare Bird Brew Pub. From 6pm to 9pm, the Pride Month Kick-Off will take over the patio.
 
On Monday, June 18, Here:Say Storytelling will be held at The Workshop Brewing Company from 7pm to 9pm. Wednesday evening, take a Pride Ride with Norte at 6pm, followed by a sign-making party with Blackbird Arts at Rare Bird Brew Pub.
 
Thursday features Prism, a pop-up art experience at Warehouse MRKT starting at 5pm. It will include a special performance by Parallel 45 Theatre at 7:30pm. Friday is Up North Pride Drag Night at the Little Fleet, and Saturday will feature the annual Pride Picnic in the Park from 2pm to 5pm followed by the Up North Pride March.
 
One new aspect of the week is a community art project, taking place throughout the week. A special Wishing Tree is being purchased for installation at the corner of Hall and Garland streets, outside Hotel Indigo. “The idea came from Loud and Proud,” says Christie Minervini, chair of the Traverse City Arts Commission.
 
The tree will be adorned with clay leaves inscribed with wishes penned by members of the community. The leaves are being created by Blackbird Arts. “The project was envisioned before it came to us,” says Melissa Johnson, the executive director of Blackbird Arts. “They just didn’t know how to do it.”
 
Johnson and Blackbird Arts were familiar with similar endeavors, such as in Japan where the wishes are often fabric, and various parts of the British Isles, where it’s commonly done with coins. Johnson suggested making leaves out of clay, then inscribing them with special pens, before firing them for a second time, making the artwork permanent. There will be three different types of leaves, and participants will be able to inscribe the leaves with their own words or artwork as well as selecting from a palette of colors.
 
“There will be three opportunities that week for members of the community to participate,” says Minervini, citing the candlelight vigil June 12, popup gallery June 21 and picnic June 23. The Up North Pride March parade follows the picnic.
 
Minervini is careful to describe the wishing tree as a community art project, rather than a public art project. The latter is produced by an artist for public consumption. [The Arts Commission’s recent attempt to install a public art project, a mural to be painted on the concrete walls surrounding the Open Space, was met with disdain from a vocal segment of the community; ultimately the firm selected for the installation withdrew from the project.]
 
As a public art project, the wishing tree embodies participation from community members. “It’s not just the LGBTQ (community), but all the community,” adds Cameron.
 
Cameron says the date of the weeklong slate of activities was selected to honor the victims of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016.
 
She says response to the previous years’ events has been overwhelmingly positive. “The venues, the people, the State Theatre – we’ve been overwhelmed,” she says.
 
“This fifth year maybe we’ll have four or five thousand people, and we get to leave something that is a year-round reminder. I’m super excited about the art. It will showcase that we are a welcoming community.”