About Us
Our 2024-2025 Board Members
Executive Board
Remington Hernandez
President
Janitza SawyerOcasio
Vice President & Marketing/Social Media
The Rev. Radhajyoti Michel-Trapaga
Secretary
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Bryce Longenberger
Treasurer
At-Large Members
Darin Coleman - Community Outreach
Allison LeVeque - Stage Crew
Dakota Anderson - Volunteer Coordinator
Al Alley - At Large Member, Ferris LGBTQ+ RC Outreach
Aleeha Turner - 2025 Vendor Coordinator
Rosaline Williams - At Large Member
Brittany Gwisdala - 2025 Vendor Coordinator
Our Story
In the fall of 2021, members of our Big Rapids community came together via Zoom to organize the inaugural Pride Festival in our area. We explored the significance of such an event for our small town and set our goal to host it at at Northend Park in June 2022. We sought advice from neighboring Pride organizations for guidance. The response from our community was overwhelmingly positive, and we celebrated the heartfelt success of our event.
In 2023, we returned to Northend Park with a larger festival. Although rain shortened our celebration, we were filled with joy witnessing our community unite and celebrate with Pride!
The year 2024 took us to the heart of Big Rapids, right on Michigan Avenue. With the theme “Wildly Joyful - Unwavering Pride!”, we hosted our largest event to date, featuring over 80 vendors and partnerships with local businesses.
While the vibrant rainbows and glitter may draw attention, our month-long celebration serves as a powerful reminder for unity, visibility, and equality for the LGBTQIA+ community. It's also a moment to recognize all of the advances — and setbacks — in the last few decades.
We are
Pride Big Rapids
For You. With You.
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A 100% volunteer led, nonprofit organization–
Supporting & Celebrating Our Queer Community!
Mission Statement
Pride Big Rapids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Big Rapids, Michigan.
Our Mission is to cultivate inclusion, education, and joy with steadfast advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community throughout West-Central Michigan.
We prioritize transparency and honesty; it is essential for us to openly communicate our financial allocations and meeting discussions with everyone involved.
Our Code of Conduct
Pride Big Rapids requests the cooperation of all festival attendees/participants with the following Festival Code of Conduct for Pride Big Rapids 2025.
The Pride Big Rapids festival is a welcoming event; having both time and space to come together with friends, family, and loved ones to celebrate the progress of the LGBTQIA+ community.
With that in mind, we have designed these guidelines to ensure that we are able to maintain a safe and inclusive space for all those participating in our events, so that everyone is treated with kindness, courtesy, and respect.
The following guidelines apply to anyone supporting the main stage events which would include volunteers, any vendors participating, hired acts, speakers, musicians, DJs, and any and all entering the space:
Pride Big Rapids is a safe space and we will not tolerate any threatening, violent or offensive behavior against participants, volunteers, staff, security personnel, and attendees.
Pride Big Rapids celebrates diversity and we do not condone and will actively dismiss anyone making derogatory remarks about, or any signage targeting, a person’s age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, size, wardrobe, physical ability, economic status, religion, and/or presence at the Pride Big Rapids festival.
Any individual found to be harassing or infringing on the bodily integrity of other participants will be asked to exit the event immediately (and will be reported to the police).
Pride Big Rapids politely requests that everyone act responsibly and according to the law with regards to alcohol consumption across the event footprint.
Pride Big Rapids asks for all the participants in attendance, either in favor or against the event, to reflect and ask themselves if their words and actions towards others present are what they would want said or done to them? We ask all of those present participants to be respectful of all no matter their differences.
Failure to abide by the Code of Conduct can result in the removal of any group or person(s) from the premises of the festival, if their behavior is deemed offensive, puts spectators or other participants at risk of physical harm, violates the code of conduct, or is a hindrance to the progress of the festival.
*The above Code of Conduct was revised in part from the Pride in London and the Upper Cumberland Pride Code of Conduct.
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Pride Big Rapids Festival is a celebration that recognizes the past and current struggles and future possibilities of the LGBTQIA+ community. All participants and those present in and at the festival are encouraged to embrace and respect this goal.
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