It’s one of those awkward tensions about the High Holy Days of June: with so much of the traditional pride festivities centered around getting drunk and picking up people at bars, beer gardens, clubs, etc, it’s generally harder for youth to participate in Pride the way the rest of us over-21-year-olds can. At the same time, LGBTQA kids are both coming out at much younger ages, and needing to find environments where they can safely be themselves and meet other kids like them, both of which are hard to do when all the night-time events are 18+ or 21+.

Jason Bucklin, from District 202, is trying to change that for Pride 2010. Working with numerous other youth organizations in the Twin Cities, Bucklin and 202 are putting the finishing touches on a calendar of youth-friendly events for the entire weekend, a section for this year’s Twin Cities Pride festival, followed by a Saturday-night, youth-only event.

According to Bucklin, the youth section of the Pride festival was conceived as partly a place where young people can hang out together, and will feature spin art, food, button makers, and a dance competition, among many other attractions. They’ll need volunteers to help man the tent, though – anyone who wants to should contact Bucklin through the District 202 website, starting in mid-May.