History of Gay and Lesbian Life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Organizations - Activist & Political - PrideFest

 
Milwaukee LGBT Pride Celebration - 1980
- At A Glance -
Dates:

Monday, June 23, 1980 thru
Saturday, June 28, 1980

Location:

Parade from Juneau Park to
MacArthur Square for Rally

Attendance:

unknown

Guide:

format: (none)
pages: (n/a)

Firsts:

unknown

Guide/ Flyers
Photos

 
       
 

 

The GPU (Gay People's Union) was at the forefront of Pride celebrations in Milwaukee beginning in the late 1970's until about 1981, when a subgroup of the GPU, the Milwaukee Pride Week Committee, began coordinating activities of various organizations and also organized a parade and rally.

A schedule of events for 1980 lists activities beginning the week prior to the parade and rally. Milwaukee did not yet have a true "festival", just a collection of activities leading up to a parade and rally.

Milwaukee at this time was celebrating the same weekend as Chicago, so after the Milwaukee parade and rally on Saturday, they organized a chartered bus to Chicago for their parade on Sunday.

  • Monday June 23-- Gay Visual Arts Show at UWM Art Gallery
  • Tuesday June 24-- Gay Town Meeting, open forum at the Farwell Center
  • Wednesday June 25-- Gay/Lesbian Film Festival at the Factory
  • Thursday June 26-- Gay/Lesbian Film Festival at the Factory
  • Friday June 27-- Gay Performing Arts Show UWM Union
  • Saturday June 28-- Parade from Juneau Park to MacArther Square for a rally there
  • Sunday June 29-- Charter bus trip to Chicago for Chicago Gay/Lesbian Pride Parade
 

 

Flyers

 
(top) Announcement in GPU Update
(bottom) Events flyer
 
Schedule of Activities from Events flyer
Top-of-Page

 

Articles

Pride Committee plans activites for 1980
(Milwaukee Calendar, April 1980, vol. 3 no. 9, pgs. 12+13)
Pride Celebration Planning
(GPU News, May 1980 pg. 10)
Plans for 1980 Pride Celebration
(GPU News, June 1980 pg. 9+10)
Miriam benShalom in 1980 Pride Parade
zoom in on benShalom photo
(GPU News, August 1980 pg. 5)
Photos from Milwaukee's Gay Pride Parade, 1980
(GPU News, August 1980 pg. 8)

At UWM, Gays Jeered, Egged on Campus "Gay Day"

 

Page 1 for this article:
UWM Post, Vol. 24- No. ?? -- approx. April 24, 1980

 



 

Credits: design and arrangement by Don Schwamb, with materials contributed by PrideFest and Ted Berg.
Last updated: May-2012.