I want to first off say I apologize for information regarding the 2025 Aberdeen Area Pride festival has been sparse. Our organization is in a transition period, and I myself graduated college over the same timeframe I usually take to work on the festival. The pride festival is still happening, no doubt about that.

 

But more about that transition period. Since I moved to Aberdeen from my parents farm in 2019, I had a goal to better the town I lived in. I had been juggling the idea of settling in Aberdeen for life, or trying to move elsewhere and experience new things. The latter ultimately won.

 

On May 31, 2025, I moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota. This move has been in the works for almost a year now, and realizing I would have to leave the LGBTQ+ community of Aberdeen was the most difficult thing to grasp. I was concerned I wouldn’t find people in the community willing to step up to the task of running and continuing to expand the young organization.

 

I’m so grateful that a handful of local individuals stepped up to positions in the board and my responsibilities will be delegated among the board members instead of it falling on one person (probably how it should have been in the first place, but I digress. 😂)

 

I will be back for the 2025 Pride Festival, as I am still involved in that planning and training the new board members on what goes into planning a safe, fun and empowering event for our community. I have complete faith they will continue to make Pride an organization for the community and their allies. There are so many things I wanted to do during my time, and I’m happy they will continue that legacy.

 

I want to thank the former president of Aberdeen Area Pride, Mack Snow, for trusting me to run the organization back in 2022. I want to thank my board members for taking on the responsibilities of running Aberdeen Area Pride. But mostly I want to thank the Aberdeen community for believing in Pride’s mission to empower, advocate and celebrate our LGBTQ+ siblings for who they are. All our donors, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, family, and friends. This organization wouldn’t be what it is without you. Thank you.