With Pride Month in June, Pride Big Rapids is partnering with MI Drag Brunch to host a drag show on Tuesday.
The event is a fundraiser for the second ever pride festival in Big Rapids scheduled in June. It will be held at Crankers Restaurant and Brewery, a local restaurant in Big Rapids.
“The Bruchettes of MI Drag Brunch are some of the best drag entertainment within the state of Michigan,” Pride Big Rapids President Darin Coleman said. “We are really looking forward to all of the fun and the campy atmosphere that they will have.”
The organization is expecting around 100 people to be in attendance. Pride Big Rapids focuses on creating a space for people in the local community to feel represented.
Coleman said if the organization can “save one life,” the work that they put in will be worth it.
“The work that we do in the community and the positive feedback that we get back, shows that what we are doing is making a change in people’s lives,” Coleman said. “It’s helping people. With the festival itself they can come there and be open and express themselves in an environment where they don’t have to be afraid.”
Also coming up for Pride Big Rapids is its second annual pride event June 25. Last year, the event went beyond the organization's expectations with around 2,500 people, according to Coleman.
“It grew exceptionally, far beyond our thoughts of what we would be able to achieve,” Coleman said. “We thought perhaps 700 people would be for our first festival, and we had 2,500 people show up. And they came from all the way from Chicago, they came from up north, we had people from all walks of life celebrating the diversity in our communities.”
Following the success of the first year, Coleman said the pride festival this year will be bigger than last. The event will have entertainment, food trucks and 80 vendors.