Mankato Pride’s 14th annual celebration begins on Friday night. The Pride weekend will feature Queer-aoke, a festival with bands and drag, a parade, and a Pride party.

The weekend kicks off with Queer-aoke at Pub500 on Friday night beginning at 8:30pm. Local business Kato Karaoke will provide the queer tunes to sing along to.

The Mankato Pride Parade will begin at 11:30am on Saturday. The route runs down Riverfront Avenue to Rock Street then heads toward the Minnesota River to Riverfront Park for the Festival. Organizers say all are welcome to march.

Mankato Pridefest begins at noon at Riverfront Park. Vendors, food, and entertainment will run until 5pm. Gosh Alice Jones will serve as emcee, and a large lineup of drag queens, live music, and belly dancers have been scheduled.

Saturday night at 8pm, the Morson-Ario VFW will host a Pride Party with dancing, a DJ, and a cash bar. Tickets at the door are $10 and the event is for ages 18 and up.