Pride St. Charles

Pride St. Charles was formed by a mother's concern for her son’s safety and emotional well-being after he came out at the age of 14. During their involvement with St. Charles PFLAG, the family realized the St. Charles County area needed more LGBTQIA+ acceptance. They wanted their son to live in a community where he doesn’t have to fear being himself. It was clear that someone needed to do something. While tabling at Pride St. Louis in 2014 with St. Charles PFLAG, VP of St. Charles PFLAG Beth Finder was told that there were not currently any Pride celebrations in the St. Charles County area. Upon this realization, Beth realized that this was the perfect opportunity to create something wonderful. With the help of PFLAG President Jill Aul began the task of getting community members to help with their initial idea, a Pride picnic for the community. After several public meetings with enthusiastic community support, their efforts were the grassroots of what is now the Pride St. Charles festival. They began to see their vision come to life in a way that neither of them thought possible.