Weekend Watch: Fargo-Moorhead takes LGBTQ Pride to the streets (2024)

Fargo-Moorhead shows its LGBTQ colors this week in rainbow fashion for Pride. While June is recognized as Pride month to honor the Stonewall uprising in 1969, the local celebration is held in August to allow participants to take part in the larger Twin Cities festivities.

Thursday - Sunday

Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum

The fun gets rolling Thursday with a family night at Thunder Road, followed by trivia and karaoke at Rhombus Guys and an ID-only vinyl music night at Front Street Taproom.

Friday features an all-ages drag show at the Comstock Memorial Union Ballroom at Minnesota State University Moorhead for $10. For those 21 and older there will be a dance party at Drekker Brewing Company.

Saturday starts at 8:30 a.m. with a 5k fun run at Viking Ship Park in Moorhead with a $40 registration for those older than 12. The free and family-centered Pride in the Park runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bluestem Amphitheater in Moorhead. The event includes a number of vendors, food trucks and live entertainment. Pride Patio Palooza starts at 2 p.m. at Wild Terra with rainbow drinks, pace painting and crafts for all ages. For those 21 and older the party keeps rolling at the Pride Block Party at UP District Festival Field. Kennedy Davenport from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” headlines the outdoor drag show with music by DJ 1PrettyRicky and more. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the drag show starting at 8 . Tickets range from $20 to $50.

An interfaith service will be held at 12:30 a.m. Sunday at the Fargo Theatre followed by the big parade at 2 p.m. in downtown Fargo. The route starts at the corner of Third Street North and NP Avenue, heading west to Broadway, then north to finish at Third Avenue North. fmpride.com .

Thursday

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Sunset on the Riverfront, a celebration of the space along the Red River, was scheduled to debut last summer but Mother Nature had other ideas. The event, organized by cultural promoters Folkways and the city of Moorhead, will premiere this Thursday at American Crystal Sugar in downtown Moorhead. The free and family-friendly program features a visit with a mermaid, Fargo-Moorhead Science Museum workshops, Plains Art Museum activities, craft vendors, food and drink trucks, music by Forefeathers and more. The fun runs from 5 to 9 p.m. folkways.org .

Thursday

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Since playing outdoors at Fargo Brewing almost three years ago, the rap duo Atmosphere has stayed busy, putting out three records. For nearly thirty years Slug has been matching lines to DJ Ant’s beats and helping shape the Minnesota hip-hop scene. The Minneapolis musicians take the drive up I-94 again on Thursday to bring the rhymes and rhythms to Fargo’s UP District Festival Field. Hebl and No Fun! Open this all-ages show at 6:45 p.m. Tickets range from $35 to $85. jadepresents.com .

Friday

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Country singers are known for singing about heartache and few have shed a tear in their personal life like Lorrie Morgan. The Grand Ole Opry member’s life has been fodder for the tabloids, in part because from 1989 to 1997 she was one of the biggest female acts on country radio. The star returns to the Fargo Theatre to play her biggest hits “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” “Watch Me” and “What Part of No” on Friday night. Music starts at 8 p.m. with tickets ranging from $49.50 to $79.50. jadepresents.com .

Friday & Saturday

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Fargo Blues Fest rolls this weekend with two days of music at Newman Outdoor Field. Pablo Cruise headlines Friday night with 1970s soft rock hits like “Whatcha Gonna Do?” and “Love Will Find a Way.” The day opens at 1 p.m. with Jay Walter & The Rectifiers, followed by Denise LaGrassa Band, Hector Anchondo Band and Mr. Sipp. Saturday starts at 11:30 a.m. with Blue Wailers, followed by Gary Cain Band, The Cold Stares, Lamont Cranston Band, The Steepwater Band and roots rockers North Mississippi Allstars returning for the first time in20 years to headline. Tickets range from $40 for a one-day pass to $175 for VIP tickets. fargoblues.com .

Saturday

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Kao Kalia Yang has written about her Hmong family’s trials and tribulations, driven from their native Laos to a refugee camp where she was born in 1980. The family settled in the Twin Cities where she wrote her first book, “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir” as well as “The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father,” both of which have been promoted locally and regionally in past community read programs. Yang will discuss her books and her writing process Saturday at the main Fargo Public Library. The event is free and open to the public and starts at 10 a.m. fargond.gov .

For almost 30 years John Lamb has been covering arts and entertainment in the Red River Valley. He started writing for the High Plains Reader in 1997 and moved to The Forum in 2002. He is an Annenberg fellow, an occasional judge for talent shows and food contestants and co-hosts the weekly “Gardening Together: The Podcast.” He's rubbed shoulders with Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, drank with National Book Award winner Colm McCann, had coffee with Grammy-winning classical musician Peter Schickele and interviewed countless other artists, actors, musicians, writers and assorted interesting people. Contact John at jlamb@forumcomm.com.