West Michigan Pride

Myself (left) and three of our volunteers: Ami, Steph, and Seth (Christine was behind the camera).

On June 18, I had the opportunity to attend West Michigan Pride in Grand Rapids, MI.

The Saturday morning drive up from Detroit was fantastic. I was accompanied by one of our regular volunteers, Ami, and we chatted excitedly and enjoyed the rural scenery along I-96. Rain had been predicted in the morning hours, but we didn’t encounter a single drop during our trip.

After checking into our hotel, we headed over to Comstock Riverside Park. Not having been to West Michigan Pride before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, although I had heard last year’s location had not been very pleasant-lots of dirt and little shade. Riverside possessed an abundance of trees and made a fairly comfortable location, much to my relief. My only complaint was with the distant parking areas, though large golf carts were provided to shuttle vendors to-and-from their cars with their supplies, negating the distance.

By chance, our table was adjacent to that of Public Reality Radio, a local talk radio station, and they expressed interest in interviewing TGMI for one of their segments. Be sure to watch our website for further information!

As at every Pride event, we chatted with members of the local trans community, many of whom expressed interest in volunteering in the future, and networked with the several trans-specific/trans-inclusive groups that attended. Creating a more unified effort between Grand Rapids groups and TGMI is on our "to-do" list.

Overall, while we didn’t run out of brochures like we did at Michigan Pride in Lansing, we still spoke to a large number of people, many unaware of our existence. I even got contact information from a local gender therapist who wasn’t on our TransPages! Every little bit helps.

At the end of the day, all of us-Ami, Steph, Seth, Christine, and myself-were tired, but very satisfied. The event had gone very well. Now, we are excited to start networking with other groups in Michigan and planning TGMI’s future.