RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The town of River Falls is more colorful than ever.
For the first time, dozens of businesses in western Wisconsin’s St. Croix Valley are openly supporting the rainbow flag.
It’s all thanks to UW River Falls student Beau Fair and entrepreneur Bridget Faricy.
The two met over a love of dogs.
Faricy was looking for a dog trainer for her Standard Poodle, which she described as “quite a handful.”
That’s how she met Fair, who is studying business administration and pet services. Fair’s goal is to eventually become a dog trainer and run a dog academy.
While they bonded with Ivan, the pair bonded over respect for Pride. There is a big event in Minneapolis and a newer event in Hudson, but they felt River Falls deserved one as well.
“The vision is that the entire St. Croix Valley will be the destination for Pride the week leading up to the big Pride Minneapolis Pride Festival” said Faricy, a newer resident of River Falls.
“I don’t want people like me to be afraid, and even though we’re in a small town in Wisconsin, we can still celebrate who we are,” Fair said.
So a few weeks ago they started a virtual celebration, asking local businesses to act as allies and offer Pride discounts. The response was overwhelming, with 50 companies and counting. From coffee to food to craft classes, the list goes on.
Swinging Bridge Brew Pub quickly signed up, as did Fox Den Used Books.
“It’s gone from where we only had one or two screenings in town to this whole Queer Crawl. I love it. I’m really excited about it,” says Heather Williams, owner of Fox Den.
The pair quickly joined businesses offering discounts of up to 40% this week, including restaurants, a coffee shop and a woodworking studio.
For a full list of places supporting this virtual event, check out the St. Croix Valley Pride website.
