Sunday I proudly attended the 2013 Twin Cities Pride’s Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade for the first time. The parade was a celebration of the continued support for equality and inclusiveness in Minnesota for GLBT rights. This year’s theme was “I Have Pride” and concentrated the festivities on raising awareness for individuals’ dedication to 6 pillars - Strength, Enthusiasm, Happiness, Growth, Confidence and Power.
The timing of the parade could not have been better! It was a great month in Minnesota for GLBT supporters with the passage of a new law which legalized same-sex marriage in Minnesota and last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that extends federal benefits to same-sex couples in states where gay marriage is legal.
The parade kicked off at 11:00am with the Grand Marshal, Chris Kluwe, former outspoken Viking’s punter along with other winners of the 2013 Pride Awards: Community Pride Shades of Yellow (SOY), Everyday Hero Brent Dundore Photography and Corporate Achievement St. Jude Medical.
The parade had a party feel from the foam party float to the Hell’s Kitchen rainbow balloons and even a marriage proposal. It was such a fun event to capture on camera!
It was a wonderful experience to see how happy everyone was and to be a part of history! What was also inspiring was to see the large Minnesota companies being a part of the parade; Target, St. Jude, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Delta, Best Buy, 3M, UPS, General Mills, HCMC and others (see the full list at the bottom of the blog).
For those who are not familiar with Ashely Rukes, she was a transgender woman who was active in many social GLBT issues and the director of the Twin Cities Pride Parade for many years. Twin Cities Pride changed the name of the parade to the “Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade” in honor of its late former director.
To learn more about the parade and show support, please visit their website: TWIN CITIES PRIDE.
CLICK HERE to see all the photos!
