Thank You from OutFront Kalamazoo

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Kalamazoo Pride was a huge success, and I cannot thank you enough. Although we are still crunching the numbers, we know that this past weekend was one of the most successful Kalamazoo prides to date. I might be biased, but I will even dare to say it was our MOST successful. Not only did our hometown show up, but we welcomed visitors from all over the state, the Midwest and beyond.

It felt so good to be surrounded by community, to share space, to laugh, and to be free to be our authentic selves. I know I am not alone in saying this – it had been far too long since we were able to do this together.

One of my favorite things about this weekend was all the local representation. Whether that was some of our entertainment like Lady Ace Boogie and the El Folklore dancers, or some of our sponsors like Bell’s, Lake Effect, and Stryker. It was also wonderful to share space with so many of our longstanding community partners like CARES, YWCA Kalamazoo, our local Planned Parenthood, and El Concilio.

An important aspect of Kalamazoo pride, and something that sets us apart from many others, is that this is a fundraiser for our community center, OutFront Kalamazoo. Because of you, we will be able to enhance our current programming and services, and also create more so we can better serve our community.  Check out our website for a list of our programs and services - https://www.outfrontkzoo.org/programs.

Lastly, thank you to the amazing OutFront Staff, our Board, our Pride Steering Committee, our nearly 200 volunteers, and all our sponsors and vendors. Kalamazoo Pride was made possible because of you.

With pride and gratitude,

Tracy Hall
Interim Executive Director