‘Under Your Skin’

A New Symbol Proves That Minnesota’s Pride Runs Deep

Around this time of year, the word “pride” is bandied about loosely, then re-bandied and re-re-bandied. Because of this ubiquity, it’s easy for the word’s meaning to ebb, to fade, to lose itself. 

Here in the Metro area, that word is kept vital and vibrant by the folks who run Twin Cities Pride, which, on its website, describes itself this way: “Twin Cities Pride is one of the largest LGBTQIA+ Pride organizations in the United States, rooted in the vibrant and diverse communities of the Twin Cities and beyond. We are proud to host the annual Twin Cities Pride Festival and Parade, along with a variety of events throughout the year that bring people together, promote awareness, and celebrate the richness of LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences.”

Twin Cities Pride’s most flamboyant functions often outshine its pithier ones. “We are typically known for the festival and the parade in June,” notes Rina Heisel, executive assistant to the executive director of Twin Cities Pride … but the people who run that group manage to keep out of the pool hall even after June’s confetti has been swept up and its sequins have been put in mothballs.

Those pithier functions have recently been broadened enormously, thanks to local efforts that would make Hercules weep. Reveals Heisel: “We’ve been working hard the last four years to change the perception of Twin Cities Pride as an organization, that we aren’t just a party in June, but an organization that supports the community all year long.”

These efforts, meritorious on their own, set the stage for a recent development that would cross a fortune teller’s eyes. Heisel recounts the startling start: “It struck a chord with the community that had been feeling beaten down, misunderstood and isolated.” 

She refers, naturally, to the creation of a symbol that has caught the zeitgeist like a flying predator scooping an unwary bullhead into its razor-like beak — Heisel refers to the genesis of the Pride Rebel Loon. 

The Pride Rebel Loon is a design that blends unapologetic North Star State vibes with the Rebel Alliance insignia from “Star Wars,” then sprinkles in copious rainbow plumage for good measure. It flew into existence during this past winter’s immigration enforcement crisis, symbolizing for countless citizens and non-citizens resistance to oppression, protection of the vulnerable, or community unity … or all of these. 

Heisel remembers that, just before the Loon’s creation, Twin Cities Pride bore witness to some all-too-familiar needs and swooped in to slake them. 

“We knew how to create a space that could serve as an emergency food source,” she says. “When our community was too afraid to leave their houses, we knew we could help, and that is what we did.”

A wave of nuts-and-bolts relief followed. Recalls Heisel, “From the moment we made the decision and started asking for food to stock the shelves, it just grew into what the community needed — a safe, welcoming space to get basic human needs.”

Meanwhile, Crystal Towne a.k.a. Starry Sky Tattoo, a local tattoo artist and soon-to-be creator of the Pride Rebel Loon, was addressing the same problem in a less direct way. 

“My wife, Jennifer Towne, and I were working on designs to make buttons and pins,” she remembers. “It was one of many.”

That one would end up rallying many … many fellow Minnesotans, that is. Says Crystal Towne: “Looking for inspiration, I saw a lot of different loon designs being put out there, and was inspired to create one a little more colorful and inclusive for everyone.”

Of course, in order to include everyone, inclusive efforts must be accessible to everyone. “Jen shared the design on a few Facebook groups she’s a part of,” Crystal Towne elaborates. 

And someone with an ambitious imagination was paying attention. 

“After seeing the design, our Executive Director, Andi Otto, reached out to Crystal to see if they would allow us to sell the design on merchandise to help raise funding to fill our shelves,” Heisel corroborates. “We offered to split the proceeds with her and make sure she got the credit she deserved.”

Towne had other priorities. “I declined and requested that my cut go towards their same efforts,” the creator says. “100% of all sales went to helping. From there, it blew up in such a positive way.”

That might be the understatement of the century. 

“The response to our Pride Loon merch was incredible,” Heisel confirms. “We knew Crystal’s design was epic, but it really hit a nerve. We’ve never had a merch item take off like that before. We sold over 2,500 items the first week it launched.” 

A particular kind of Loon-acy had taken hold of the public. 

“Suddenly, the Rebel Loon was everywhere, and people realized they were not alone,” Heisel enthuses. “I think the community also truly loved that all the proceeds from our Pride Loon merch — sweatshirts, t-shirts, stickers, patches, etc. — all went right back into serving the community.” 

Even as Twin Cities Pride (and the community surrounding it) benefitted from the Pride Rebel Loon’s revenue-generating prowess, the mascot’s mom was visited by the best sort of karma.

“Many people have reached out asking to use my Minnesota Pride Rebel Loon Design for fans, hats, baking goods, patches, tattoos, etc.,” Towne asserts. “It’s gotten so much positive attention, and I really love how it’s brought so many people together.”

The reaction to the Pride Rebel Loon generated a reaction of its own. 

“We served over 10,000 families in seven weeks,” Heisel reveals. “While it was our space and platform who put out the call, all of us would tell you it was the community who truly made it what it was.”

Twin Cities Pride decided to honor those efforts by naming “Our Community” the Grand Marshal of its 2026 parade. The graphic announcing this award, of course, featured the Pride Rebel Loon. But, not content with taking only one community under her wing, the Loon spread her vast rainbow feathers across the country.

“We have shipped items all over the U.S.,” Heisel reports. “I think it is a true show of how people were watching all of us here in Minnesota and wanted to show solidarity.”

For Heisel, though, her efforts begin and end in the Twin Cities. 

“I grew up in South Minneapolis and Bloomington,” she testifies. “While I also lived a few years in South Dakota and Florida before returning to the Twin Cities, it’s always been home to me.”

That Twin Cities allegiance has served as fuel for Heisel’s work. 

“Our Executive Director Andi Otto had a vision,” Heisel says. “By listening to the community and working with his team, we developed year-round programming to create events that would address community needs.” 

Those community needs proved as variegated as a rainbow … so the solutions had to follow suit. 

“Some of those programs are job fairs, book fairs, Trunk-or-Treat, Rainbow Feast and what we feel is the most important one: our Rainbow Wardrobe, which is designed to provide gender affirming clothing and undergarments for those wanting a safe and affirming space,” catalogues Twin Cities Pride’s executive assistant. “Because of the community response, we also added personal care products, make-up, and other basic necessities.”

In other words, the funds generated by the Pride Rebel Loon will probably address whatever needs are neediest in the future. Vows Heisel, “Twin Cities Pride will always do what we can to care for our community, and when things are happening in our community, we have a duty to help in any way that we can.”

Like a waterfowl’s aquatic landing, such dutiful help can cause ripples. “We also know that when you help one marginalized community, it ends up helping so much more,” Heisel insists. 

Invoking a Twin Cities Pride event that’s part costume ball, part convention, and part tailgate party, Heisel continues, “Back in October, when SNAP benefits were cut for so many, we put a call out for quick and easy meals to have on hand at our Trunk-or-Treat event.” 

Where Halloween is traditionally a holiday that celebrates fear, last year’s Trunk-or-Treat was intended to alleviate it. “If someone had food insecurities, they could pick up some extra food to help ease the burden,” Heisel says. 

That same insecurity cast its stomach-grumbling shadow over November, but Twin Cities Pride, according to Heisel, had an answer: “The need was definitely there as we went through thousands of pounds of food at that event and also at our Rainbow Feast event.” 

So yeah, the word “pride” might be overused around this time of year … but the addition of the Pride Rebel Loon will ensure that the word, as it’s employed in year-long service to the Twin Cities, will never ebb, fade or lose itself. This only makes sense as the Pride Rebel Loon’s creator and her benefactor share the same selfless values: proffering social aid that’s as permanent as a tattoo. 

“Once you get to know Crystal, you will soon learn that her heart is huge and she wanted nothing in return [for the use of her design] but to ensure we helped the community in any way that we could,” Heisel concludes. “Andi was so moved by the design and the spirit in which it was created, he was the first to get it as a tattoo by Crystal herself.”