Duluth Superior Pride: A Weekend Getaway to Make Your Heart Gay

As summer comes to a close, many folks are looking for one final hurrah to end the season on a sunny note. Luckily, Pride doesn’t end in June. The Duluth Superior Pride Festival is hosting a weekend full of fun, queer activities for you to enjoy. So go ahead and plan your Labor Day weekend escape just two hours north, and end your summer right at Duluth Superior Pride!

Duluth Superior Pride will take place from August 28-31. There are tons of cool events to check out for the festival — guests can expect a little bit of everything, from drag shows to youth dances to a Pride KinkOff Party to a Coffee & Conversation event and beyond. Check in on their schedule at duluthsuperiorpride.com for the full hour-by-hour rundown.

The main events, of course, are the Duluth Superior Pride Festival at Bayfront Festival Park from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the Pride Parade at Tower Avenue in Superior, Wisc., beginning at noon. This festival is a massive celebration with vendors, food and, of course, tons of community bonding. Grab your flag, don your favorite pride fit and get ready for a weekend of celebration! Both of these events are free and open to the public.

Duluth Superior Pride highlights and celebrates the identities and lives of two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual people, and states on its website:

“The mission of this organization is to serve the people of the Duluth-Superior area community’s diverse sexual and gender identities by organizing safe and inclusive events that celebrate equality and self-expression.”

But the fun doesn’t stop at the pride festival! You can make a whole weekend getaway out of your trip to Duluth by checking out some of the fun things happening in town! Duluth is full of cool events, exciting attractions and interesting history.

To start, if you’re looking for a great spot to grab dinner while you’re in town for the festival, check out Bulldog Pizza & Grill, a local favorite for generations, or Blue Rock Grill, a neighborhood staple for a bite to eat and a glass of wine, a cocktail or a smooth whiskey.

To get a little energy in the morning before you start all your Pride festivities, grab a coffee at Dovetail Café, which is known for its specialty coffee, local arts and live entertainment, or a decadent craft coffee treat at 190° Coffee & Tea.

Of course, there’s also the Duluth Playhouse, a stunning theater that art-lovers from all over the country come to see every year. As one of the nation’s oldest non-profit theaters, if you love the theater, you can’t miss checking it out. While there are no shows on Labor Day weekend this year, you can still see the beautiful playhouse (and maybe even start planning your next trip)!

And before the weather gets too awfully cold (because let’s face it, the freezing temperatures are just around the corner!), hit the water and explore the vastness of Lake Superior and the intricate waterways of the St. Louis River Estuary. Whether you’re looking to go paddleboarding, fishing or sailing, or you just want to lie out on one of the beautiful freshwater beaches, there’s something for everyone in Duluth.

In fact, “Park Point Beach, located on the longest freshwater sandbar in the world, offers plenty of picnic tables, sandy beach for sandcastles, sand volleyball courts, a playground for the kids and, of course, the refreshing waves to take a dip,” according to Visit Duluth.

If enjoying the water without going in the water is more your thing, you can also watch the ships come in at the Canal Park Shipping Canal, one of the most popular attractions for both visitors and locals alike. Gaze at some of the 900 vessels that travel underneath the aerial lift bridge annually … and make sure to take pictures!

Don’t miss out on the best way to end your summer: visiting the Duluth Superior Pride Festival over Labor Day weekend. And check out all the fun things to do in the city while you’re there!