Valley Wide Pride Festival is Back for Year Three

It was a few months before June, and Valley Wide Pride didn’t yet have its nonprofit status, having started fundraising just three months before Pride.

“We didn’t know, like how much we were going to be able to get organized, and we were so lucky that a bunch of the pieces fell together, and we got the support from the community and local businesses and fundraising,” says Matthew Darnold, mental health specialist and president and founder of Hudson Pride Co.

What started as a celebration at Lakefront Park, just outside an outdoor venue right on the St. Croix River in 2023, and in 2024 was forced by a severe weather event to pivot to the school doors of Hudson High School, is now back at a familiar location, ready to continue its momentum.

From community vendors, live music, food trucks, lawn games, a kids and teen tent, bingo and a beer and wine tent — the event has something for everyone. And although the schedule of events for 2025 has not yet been finalized, last year’s pride commenced with morning yoga, a Tai Chi and Dragon Dance, clogging and live music.

For year three we are revisiting — going back to their founding roots at Lakefront Park on Saturday, June 21. But the roots of the fest live on, as just three months before year one, the board started to fundraise.

“And now … we are here,” Darnold says. “You know, it turned into one of Hudson’s main events.”

The board comprises 10 members, with active positions ranging from vice president, secretary, treasurer, director of operations, vendor coordinator, creative lead and entertainment coordinator. There are also positions open for a social media manager, community outreach coordinator and event coordinator.

With estimates of 1,000 to 1,200 attendees in year one, with nearly 2,000 in year two, Darnold says he is hoping to see an additional increase in year three.

Though Darnold says he can’t confirm any bands just yet, visitors can expect a lineup of local queer artists from prior years with a few new ones for year three.

One thing is sure to evolve, which is the grand entrance. Picture this: A swarm of folks on bikes, roller blades and scooters — a vivid, motion-filled parade that sets the stage for the day, children laughing and playing, a true ode to childhood and pure joy.

Darnold says that the board is also trying to create a sensory space for individuals who may need a break from noise, a place to engage in coping skills and a variety of sensory activities — an idea he got from other Pride fests across the region.

Darnold himself says he didn’t have the greatest experience growing up as a queer kid in Wisconsin, and didn’t appreciate his hometown throughout high school — so going back to start a Pride was scary at first.

“It was just harder to go back to that place for a long time,” Darnold says. “Since coming out and kind of establishing myself and kind of figuring out my own stuff, you know, I’ve been attending more Prides,” Darnold says.

It was attending a Pride in Kansas that launched the idea for Pride in Wisconsin. “It just kind of launched this park,” Darnold says.

So, Darnold sent an email to the mayor of Hudson, planting the idea of hosting a pride in their very city — which led to an honest conversation and a green light to start Hudson Pride Co., which was started with the vision to increase support, visibility and resources for the LGTBQ community in the Sr. Croix Valley area.

“It’s been a really healing thing for me, finding spaces in my hometown and connecting with local businesses and community members that I never knew were supportive,” Darnold says.

Though Darnold has also been to Twin Cities Pride, he thinks that there is beauty in both having a large pride with many community members, but also having a more tightly knit community in a smaller pride like Valley Wide.

“It’s been a really awesome experience, just kind of creating a space in Hudson that didn’t necessarily exist for a very long time,” Darnold says.