The first Keweenaw Pride Fest will be held on the Houghton waterfront this weekend. Originally a smaller event, the fest received a boost of support in the weeks leading up to it, and will feature a potluck, live music, and information tables.

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - Coming this Saturday, the very first Keweenaw Pride Fest will be held on the Houghton waterfront.

While some pride events have been held in Houghton previously, this event is being put on by a group known as Keweenaw Queers.

“Keweenaw Queers came out of a need for a way to describe a parent group doing the Houghton Pride Fest,” said Pride Fest Organizer Katie Atkinson. “It became pretty clear when we reached out to several organizations locally about a Houghton Pride, they were interested in attending or helping, but no one was directly organizing it. So we sort of started the group as something to build the Pride Fest under.”

The fest is being held at the East Houghton Waterfront Park, with approval from the city, featuring a potluck, live music performances and face painting.

“Feel free to bring something, so long as you label any major allergens,” said fellow organizer Riley Powers. “That would be super helpful.”

There will also be tables with information centered around organizations such as Planned Parenthood and U.P Kids. The idea originally started as a smaller event, but as the date drew nearer, the organizers were surprised by a swell of interest.

“We’ve got over 10 community tables lined up to participate,” said Atkinson. “We have like 16, and we still had people still emailing us even yesterday that were like, ‘Hi! Can we have a table?’ just like at the last minute. People reaching out, people we’ve never heard of or not directly interacted with, that were interested in participating,” said Powers.

The fest will run from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information regarding parking for the event, check out the event’s Facebook page by clicking here.