Mankato's Pride Parade to go through Riverfront Drive as planned

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) -This weekend Mankato hosts South Central Minnesota Pride, and things are coming together just in time.

The celebration kicks off Thursday with Bingo, then karaoke on Friday, but Saturday is the main event.

Riverfront Park will be the center of the celebration and is expected to be packed with people, a sight that organizers say wasn’t there when the event began 23 years ago.

“Pride started with Jessica Flatequal and her folks. They had folks in Sibley Park and there were maybe 200 that came those first few years and it’s really grown,” said Pride organizer Beth Burrows.

The lead up to the festival in the park is the annual Jessica Flatequal Pride Parade, which traditionally follows Riverfront Drive on their way to the park.

Organizers said that the march down Riverfront is still part of the plan, but that the construction of the road has altered things slightly.

The project is in its second phase, meaning part of the road is paved over, but traces of construction still litter the roadway and the path isn’t currently open for vehicles.

Organizers said that it all came together just in the nick of time.

“It was just a couple days ago that we had the final, definitive answer, it was a nail-biter but you really do need to learn how to let it go because as a parade coordinator I was very nervous,” Burrows said. “We’re very grateful to the city of Mankato and they’ve been very gracious.”

Rather than going all the way to Rock Street, the parade will turn towards the park at Elm Street, where Phase 2 of the construction has begun.

The parade starts on Riverfront Drive at 11:15 this Saturday.

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