Maria Bevacqua rose above the convertible’s back seat to respond with love to a welcoming crowd during Saturday’s Jessica Flatequal Pride Parade.
Named for Bevacqua’s late spouse, who died at age 46 from cancer on April 9, 2019, the parade and the following Pridefest celebration in Riverfront Park are special to her. This was the 23rd Mankato Pride celebration, which started in Wheeler Park in 2002.
Flatequal was the first director of Minnesota State’s LGBT Center. Bevacqua noted Flatequal “was a big part of growing the Pridefest.”
“Today is so special,” said Bevacqua. “I felt like the parade was so vibrant and robust. It’s a beautiful, rainbowy day.”
Nadine Penner, 47, grew up in California but has been a Mankato resident for 14 years. Still, this was her first Mankato Pride parade. Retail jobs kept her away in the past but she felt it important “to support our brothers and sisters.”
“We have many, many friends who are all somewhere in between (the LGBTQ spectrum).” she said.
Best friends Lisa Dittrich and Shayla Hollenbeck, both 24, were dressed colorfully to watch the parade and then walk on to Riverfront Park. Dittrich is a New Ulm native, Hollenbeck from Alexandria. Now, both live in Mankato.
“It’s like a comforting place to be,” Dittrich said, acknowledging that rural Minnesota can sometimes at times be less welcoming. “We just love it. The vibes here are great.”
OutFront Minnesota was among informational vendors during the afternoon Pridefest celebration. The Twin Cities-based nonprofit is the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.
“Queer folk are everywhere,” said Matt Lewellyn-Otten, director of organizing for OutFront. “They’re everywhere (in Minnesota) and they want direct support services, a safe place and community.”
And he’s encouraged by the growing support from rural Minnesotans.
“When we talk about rural pride, it just happens to be everywhere,” Lewellyn-Otten said. “Rural communities show up and in fantastic ways.”
Pridefest organizers estimated the afternoon crowd at 4,000. A total of 108 vendors, a record number, displayed their wares or provided information. After the short, late morning parade, four hours of entertainment included a family-friendly drag show, kids activities and plenty of food options.
South Central Minnesota Pride chairman Charlie Johnston, who has been volunteering for the organization and event since 2011, said the 108 vendors was a record number. Many lined the walkway on the far grounds of Riverfront Park, and welcomed young and old.
Johnston, too, sensed the special vibe that others talked of throughout the afternoon Pridefest celebration.
“That’s what we hope for, to make it a safe place,” he said. “I think we’re just a community that’s open and accepting, to learn more about people that are different.”
While the first Mankato Pride event in 2002 at Wheeler Park happened at a different time in state and regional history of LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy, it was “very small, but mighty,” according to Bevacqua.
“It’s just so glorious to see the growth in this,” she added. “But we can’t pretend the work is over. The message is still needed. We always have work to do.”