I dropped by Youth Pride event in Loring Park last Thursday. Around 100 LGBTA kids — and even a few parents — milled about Loring Park, listening to their peers sing and perform.

After shooting a group of kids from St Louis Park, I fell into a a conversation with one kid’s mother. “That one girl,” she said, point across the crowd. “The one who’s dancing with my daughter. She came all the way from St Paul, without knowing anybody here, and she’s been making a whole bunch of friends.”

“For some kids here, this is one of a few chances where they can really be themselves.”