Jill Schramm/MDN Nikki Tickerhoof, left, with the Minot Women’s Network booth, visits with Tiffani Kopp, center, and Ariana Daniels at the Pride picnic held by Magic City Equality and Misfits of Minot in Oak Park Sunday.

Magic City Equality and Misfits of Minot invited the community to Oak Park Sunday for a picnic and outdoor games as part of a month-long observance of Pride Month.

“That’s one of the things I hold near and dear to my heart is just seeing people come out and be themselves and be with friends,” Shannon Krueger with Magic City Equality said. “I also think it is important to have these events, especially now with the rise in LGBT legislation and just the divides that are happening nationwide. I think it is important to still be visible, still let people know that it’s OK to be who you are and that we are here to support that safe space.”

Equality continues to be a struggle for the LGBTQ+ community in North Dakota, said Cody Schuler, advocacy manager for ACLU of North Dakota, who participated in Magic City Equality’s Pride in the Streets event in downtown Minot May 31.

The defeat in the North Dakota Senate of a resolution that encouraged the federal government to rescind gay marriage gives him hope that attitudes are changing, Schuler said, but he also is concerned about the political climate statewide and nationally.

“What this kind of rhetoric does is it really gives permission to people to be discriminatory,” he said. “I hope that people always feel free to express themselves. And at the same time on this, we are seeing those particular expressions of hate to be, I think, a little bit more prevalent at times.”

Schuler added he remains optimistic for the future that society will move toward equity and justice over the long term.

“That’s the hope that I have that drives the work that I do,” he said.

Krueger said community support for Magic City Equality’s events has been excellent. Various organizations expressed interest in setting up information booths Sunday, she said, and the Human Rights Coalition and Minot Women’s Network were able to participate.

Co-sponsor Misfits of Minot is a theatrical group with some cross membership with Magic City Equality. The group is most known for The Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast productions that it has staged on 10-15 occasions with a mix of regular and newcomer actors since 2014, said Vincent Vetter of Misfits of Minot. The next production, celebrating the movie’s 50th anniversary, is planned for September, Vetter said.

Misfits of Minot also stages variety shows and held its Pride show in Minot Saturday.

In addition to Pride events occurring in June, which is national Pride month, two Pride events are planned in larger cities in North Dakota in August and September, along with newer events popping up in smaller communities, Schuler said.

The events are an opportunity to remind people that North Dakota is home for the LGBTQ+ community, he said, noting they are citizens who attend school, work and pay taxes in the state.