Dozens of colorful flags blowing in Saturday’s gusting wind around the Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia announced that it wasn’t just a normal day on the Range. The 6th annual Range Iron Pride Festival took center stage with music, food trucks, information booths, and family activities coming together to create a carnival-like atmosphere where LGBTQ+ individuals and allies gathered to celebrate self-acceptance, commemorate their history, and advocate for equal rights.
While the first Pride Marches started in 1970 to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City that resulted in six days of protests and clashes that galvanized the modern LGBTQ movement, Range Iron Pride has only been around for six years.
The first two festivals started small and were held near Silver Lake in Virginia, but Range Iron Pride has grown significantly in the years since. In 2024, the festival expanded and was held at the Iron Trail Motors Event Center, where it has been held each August since. In addition to the annual, open-air festival, Range Iron Pride also holds smaller events. 2024 saw the beginning of the group’s “3rd Thursday,” where they would host an informal and welcoming gathering to meet friends, play games, and share a meal. Group activities have expanded to weekly events mostly held at CHAIR in downtown Virginia but occasionally meeting at a supportive Range area business or restaurant. Information about Range Iron Pride or future events can be found at rangeironpride.org or on Facebook.
According to board chairman and founding member Steve Johnson, acceptance across the Range is rapidly improving, and the region, as well as Minnesota, is being recognized as an accepting region of the country. Johnson mentioned knowing several people who have moved to the area from other states, including Texas and Florida, because they feel safer and welcomed into the community.
Future hopeful plans include a winter pride festival, a first for Minnesota, and organizers point out that the festival helps drive an economic impact on the Range with hundreds of visitors traveling from across the state to attend.
Johnson followed up, saying that the Range Iron Pride Festival “In general, it’s been amazing and the community support has been fantastic.”
Range Iron Pride events and activities are always open to anybody. “All are welcome”.
In 1999, the United States officially recognized June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, a designation that has grown globally in the following 27 years.
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