More small Minnesota towns are embracing Pride events. But holding them can be complicated.

PLAINVIEW, MINN. – Anthony McClellan couldn't sleep much the night before Sept. 14, eager to throw the first Pride celebration his small town has ever seen.

He was up at 5 a.m., in the bedroom of Annie Jurgens, his co-organizer for Plainview's Pride festival, by 6:30 a.m., as she was getting going to finish last-minute preparations. And he was on-site as security started to set up.

Not everyone was as excited as he was. In the days before the daylong celebration, residents had asked the police chief to cancel it. A Christian community group decided to hold a prayer circle in a park across town, praying that no evil come to the city of 3,500 people that day. And his and Jurgens' businesses got online threats shortly after they advertised Pride.

Big cities and small towns alike across Minnesota have struggled in recent years over LGBTQ issues , from drag shows and story hours to Pride flags and signs. For every organizer hoping to create space for underrepresented people, there are critics who question whether LGBTQ displays harm their community.

More small towns are starting their own Pride festivals — Grand Rapids and Plainview held their first events this year, while Albert Lea and Owatonna have a few years under their belts. As Pride events continue cropping up organizers and critics alike are faced with the same questions: What does it mean for small towns to embrace Pride? How can residents in those towns bridge the cultural divide to make everyone feel more accepted?

Pride Festival attendees wait outside of Atelier1901 before the start of a drag show. (Ayrton Breckenridge) 'The kind of place we want to live in' About a half-hour northeast of Rochester, Plainview is a bedroom community for Mayo employees, though it also has two manufacturing companies in town that attract migrant workers.

Its downtown is less than a mile, bookended by the local high school and Hwy. 42, which cuts the town in half. Kitschy shops, variety stores, a martial arts studio fill the storefronts, close to a bowling alley and gas station.

Politically the area leans conservative. Local voters supported Donald Trump 3 to 2 in the 2020 presidential election, and the school district was one of two in Minnesota that didn't opt into the Minnesota Student Survey in 2022 over concerns about questions regarding gender.

They were called there by the Plainview Area Christians group, who organized the prayer circle in response to the drag shows. They preached for a peaceful day and wondered why the Pride organizers were so concerned about safety.

For over an hour, they prayed sitting on park benches or standing in the grass that no evil befall anyone in Plainview. They prayed together and in smaller groups for the children and for those who are confused to not to give in to evil but accept God. And they prayed for the media to report fairly on the town.

"The events that are taking place in town here need God's touch," said Tiffany Horton, one of the people who attended the prayer circle.

Horton said she doesn't believe Plainview's Pride event expresses the majority opinions or values of the community. She's concerned there's a concerted effort to push ideas that won't help onto people who are confused or struggling.

"We would make an effort, likewise, to pray for them and to bring God into their lives and help them with any struggles they have or decisions they're trying to make," she said.

'The start of something so magical' Hundreds of people turned out for Plainview's Pride events, bringing tears to McClellan's eyes throughout the day. Roxi read to 100 or so people while others visited vendors inside Jurgens' shop. A local Methodist pastor gave "glitter blessings," drawing hearts with glitter paint on hands.

The two drag shows sold out the day before, bringing more than 140 adults to see performers from Austin and the Twin Cities. The shows themselves were bawdy parties filled with dancing, confetti, jokes and music.

Drag queens and audience members dance during the Plainview Pride Festival drag show at Atelier1901. (Ayrton Breckenridge) But the Pride events in Plainview are just the beginning.

A group has started a local chapter of PFLAG, an education and advocacy group for LGBTQ rights. McClellan and Jurgens recently received a $50,000 University of Minnesota grant to host cultural events and conversations at Atelier1901, as well as help provide diversity and equity training for local teachers. And organizers are already working on next year's Pride event, vowing to hold it in a park and expand the celebration.

McClellan fired up the crowd at each show, thanking them for believing in his dream and for accepting him through good times and bad.

"This is the start of something so magical here," he said, choking up.

Ali Dugger hugs Chalsea Roder and Ronda Harmon during the Plainview Pride Festival drag show at Atelier1901. (Ayrton Breckenridge)