Holland Pride 2026 celebrates progress in West Michigan amid ongoing push for acceptance

HOLLAND — Pride took Holland by storm this year, with the 2026 Holland Pride Festival proudly organized by Out on the Lakeshore. 

The festival, which took place on June 27, featured a sensory-friendly area, an art area where attendees were walked through various art projects, vendors, food trucks and more.

Set up at Kollen Park, the festival was packed with people of all ages with Pride flags, holding signs, and wearing Pride-themed shirts. 

Two attendees wearing Pride-themed T-shirts were Lisa Cardillo Holland and Tiffany Louzon, wearing shirts that said “free mom hugs.” Holding their arms out wide, they waited for attendees to come up to them to receive a hug. Both women are part of a larger group called Free Mom Hugs. 

Cardillo has been volunteering for the group for the past five years. 

“I love hugging, and I love Pride and inclusion and diversity, and I’m also a mom to a child in the LGBTQ community,” said Cardillo. “A lot of people don’t have parents that will hug them anymore, so we are just here to be a support and provide a loving embrace, or high five, or fist bump, whatever anybody needs.” 

Astrid Knight (they/he), of Grand Rapids, was attending the event as a vendor, selling their books about discovering queerness and how it intertwines with trauma and mental health. 

As for what they believe being queer means to them, Knight told Ottawa News Network: “It means being unapologetically who you are no matter what anyone says. I’m a non-binary pansexual person and a lot of people don’t understand that, but wherever you turn in those little safe spaces, you find people who get it.” 

For many of the attendees, making the younger generation a more confident and more proud generation was a top priority. Jerrica Kallio, Holland, was at Pride with First United Methodist Church, taking pictures of attendees that were quickly printed, and chatting with them. 

“This is just a great place to see how many people are here in this community,” said Kallio in reference to why an event like Holland Pride is important for queer youth, "It's so great to see just how big the community is, and how much love and support there is even in West Michigan.” 

This year's Pride marked roughly 20-plus years of Holland Pride history. Pride celebrations go as far back as 2004. Advocates in Holland have continuously been fighting for more recognition and acceptance for the community.

The fight for acceptance in Holland and West Michigan is not necessarily over yet either, attendees said, with many concerned with the DEI rollbacks and changes being made at the County level over the course of the last few years, along with there being a concern of queer acceptance in West Michigan overall. 

Some, like Calliope Albert she/her, 21, are proud of how far West Michigan has come, while also acknowledging that acceptance has a ways to go. 

“To me, Pride means to be proud of who I am, proud of my peers and the people around me, and also remembering the past and what we fought for and how hard we should keep fighting to get to where we want to be in the future,” said Albert, while holding a “Free lesbian kisses” sign. 

For more information on Out on the Lakeshore, the organizer of Holland Pride, visit outonthelakeshore.org for a variety of queer-friendly resources. 

— Mallory Burt is a reporter for Ottawa News Network. Contact her at newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.