Who are you and what is Point Pride? 

My name is Ryan Goszkowicz and I am the founder and Event Director of Point Pride! Point Pride is an annual Pride festival that is held in Stevens Point every year!

How did Point Pride start? 

It took me a while to be comfortable with my own sexuality, but once I came to terms with it, I wanted to help people in my community have a safe space to express themselves. I had been to Pride festivals in big cities, but I felt like it was important to have something closer to home. I had the opportunity of performing at a small pride event in Stevens Point in 2019. The following year, I asked the previous coordinator if the event was going to happen again, and I was told that the group that put it together disbanded. I couldn’t allow Pride to not continue in our city, so I took initiative and decided I was going to make it happen. Our first year ended up being fully digital due to the pandemic. Following that, I collected a small group of four or five like-minded individuals that really wanted to keep Point Pride going, and we hit the ground running! Our first in-person event featured over 30 queer performers and brought in over 2,000 people! We’ve been keeping it going ever since!

What can people expect at the festival? 

Point Pride will be held Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10. Friday will kick off with our second annual “Pride Crawl!” Starting at 3:00 p.m., this event is a bar crawl featuring participating downtown bars along with a drag show right in the public square on Main Street!

Saturday’s festival is from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Pfiffner Park Bandshell. The day kicks off with “2kids 4kids” a family-friendly drag performance/story time hosted by Wisconsin native drag teens, Nemo and Andi with an i Domino!

Pride’s all-day entertainment lineup includes headliner hosts Sissy LaLa and Bryanna Banx$, two multi-act drag shows, a performance by pop-punk band Falling Flat, and community performers including Authentic Theatre Ensemble, and Croi Croga Aerial Arts. The fun continues with a color powder party, food and beverage trucks, a local vendor and artisan market, and more.

Point Pride is a free, family-friendly event, open to anyone who wishes to celebrate unity and support the LGBTQIA+ community.

How can people get involved—either attending or as a vendor? 

If anybody is interested in coming to the event, like our page on Facebook to stay up-to-date with all of the exciting details! Businesses, vendors, sponsors, and private citizens who wish to support Pride can find sponsorship tiers and donation links at stevenspointpride.com.