What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
Every June, downtown Rhinelander transforms into a space where belonging takes center stage. The Northwoods Pride Festival recently celebrated its tenth year at ArtStart on South Stevens Street, drawing hundreds of community members for an afternoon of music, storytelling, and affirmation.
For a region known more for its fishing opener crowds and snowmobile rallies, hosting a decade-long Pride tradition says something about the Northwoods. This isn’t just a festival — it’s become a marker of how rural communities can create space for everyone.
Di Wu, the festival’s committee chair, watched families stream through ArtStart’s doors throughout the six-hour event. “It’s very important in the rural area to have a pride festival like this to affirm that this is a safe space,” she explained.
What makes the Northwoods Pride Festival stick around for ten years? The programming reflects genuine community effort rather than symbolic gestures.
Local churches set up resource tables alongside Nicolet College and area high schools. Nonprofits that serve LGBTQ+ residents year-round show up with information about mental health services, youth support groups, and social gatherings like the monthly Lavender Lounge.
The day included live music, food vendors serving everything from brats to bubble tea, and a family-friendly drag show that drew cheers from kids and grandparents alike. Ya know what? That mix of generations matters in a place where extended families often live within twenty minutes of each other.
“Having a pride festival is also telling those stories, showcasing those stories that don’t always get told and creating new stories of all these people coming together to celebrate.” — Traci Stinebrink, ArtStart Communications Director
This was only the second year ArtStart hosted the festival, but the venue fit feels natural. The arts organization has built its mission around storytelling through creative expression — which is exactly what Pride does on a community scale.
Traci Stinebrink, ArtStart’s communications director, sees the connection clearly. Art gives voice to experiences that mainstream culture often overlooks. Pride amplifies those voices in a public, joyful way.
The downtown location also matters practically. Free admission and walkable access mean families can drop in between errands or make an afternoon of it without worrying about parking or entry fees.
Urban Pride events draw massive crowds and corporate sponsors. The Northwoods version operates on a different scale, and that’s precisely its strength.
In smaller communities, visibility carries extra weight. When schools, churches, and local colleges participate publicly, they’re sending a clear message about who belongs here.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
Wu emphasized that creating an inclusive place to live requires more than tolerance. It demands active affirmation — the kind that comes from showing up year after year.
Ten years doesn’t make Pride ancient history, but it does establish tradition. Kids who attended the first festival as toddlers are now teenagers who might volunteer or perform.
The festival runs entirely on volunteer energy. Wu and her committee spend months coordinating with vendors, booking performers, and securing sponsors. After the last attendee left at 5 p.m., they were already thinking about year eleven.
That kind of sustained effort reflects something deeper than event planning. It’s about insisting that rural Wisconsin can be a place where LGBTQ+ residents thrive, not just survive.
The Northwoods Pride Festival lasts six hours, but its impact extends through the rest of the year. The relationships formed at resource tables turn into ongoing support.
ArtStart’s year-round LGBTQ+ programming — including the monthly Lavender Lounge — creates spaces for community between the big annual celebration. Pride isn’t a single event; it’s woven into the fabric of what makes Rhinelander home for more residents than you might expect.
As summer settles into the Northwoods and visitors arrive for lake season, downtown Rhinelander keeps proving that small towns can lead on inclusion. The fishing’s still great, the trails are waiting, and there’s room at the table for everyone.
Next June, when the rainbow flags go up on Stevens Street again, it’ll mark more than another festival. It’ll be another year of the Northwoods choosing to be a place where all its residents can celebrate who they are.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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