Ali Larson was not a Janesville native, but had lived in the area and was looking for queer community. Coming from Chicago where their home LGBTQIA+ community was loud and thriving, they missed that connection and posted “Are there any Pride events going on in June?” in the local Janesville, WI Community Facebook group. That simple sentence sparked a wildfire. Ali learned quickly of Janesville’s history of homophobia, racism and general intolerance. The backlash was staggering, but in the slew of comments one read “If you believe in it you should start something yourself.” So Ali did just that. A Facebook group was opened on June 6th, 2021 in the hopes to plan a small local get together for whomever was interested. Upon waking the next morning, the group had hundreds of new members. The group reached 1500 members in less than 24 hours, and in 48 had exceeded over 2000 members! In 4 short months a group of passionate community members stood up and came together to hold Janesville’s first ever official Pride in the Park festival, attended by well over 1200 people. 

Janesville Pride is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide a foundation of support to the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies of Janesville, WI, and the greater Rock County area through advocacy, education, and support services to build and maintain a more affirming, equitable, and empowering community. Janesville Pride connects individuals with support services in the area, plans large and small scale community events, is home to Ezra’s Closet - our gender inclusive free clothing exchange program, and partners with our beloved fellow LGBTQIA+ organizations like Pride Theater Productions, Madison Outreach, The Rock County LGBTQIA+ committee, and Yellow Brick Road.