GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Although June is Pride month, Green Bay celebrates LGBTQ+ pride on this August weekend.
“Reconciling with your identity, living your authentic self, can really save lives for people in our community," said Justis Tenpenny, Weekend of Pride Communication Manager. “Our history and our voices and our presence really has been erased from the city, from the state, from the country, and it’s really important to show up and be seen.“
A couple months ago, local artist Loschue Lo began painting a colorful mural at the Napalese Lounge, a historic gay bar in Green Bay. Now, he’s finally finished, and the community can celebrate its unveiling during the Weekend of Pride.
“The process itself was so cool," said Lo. "Like, we were at night, there was a projector, and it was just super cool tracing them and getting to the paint in a detail, the flesh tones and the scale size.“
From a weekend-long LGBTQ+ Pride exhibition at the Art Garage called "Our Voices," to a Starlight bike ride Friday night and a Saturday block party with food trucks and live entertainment, the unveiling of Lo’s mural has evolved into a huge celebration, now with the addition of an unveiling of the Lounge's new front door with Green Bay mayor, Eric Genrich, at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
“When we started this project, we thought we were going to paint a 3 x 5‘ mural on this wall and have a small party to celebrate when it was done," said Martha, Mural Project Coordinator. "The community has rallied in unbelievable ways. The business the arts, higher education, the city of Green Bay.“
Everyone is invited to come celebrate this weekend, said Martha.
“They're friends, they're allies, people they know are part of the LGBTQ community," said Martha. "And they need the affirmation and presence of everyone.“
The block party will go from 2 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. You can find more information on the Napalese Lounge's web site here.
