Minneapolis City Hall is trading its usual early-morning formality for sequins and stilettos on Thursday. A public drag show will take over the building’s marble rotunda at 8 a.m. as part of Pride Month, with breakfast served before the City Council convenes. Performers on the bill include Starr Dust and Hunky Dory, and Mayor Jacob Frey is slated to attend.
According to the Star Tribune, the event is backed by the Minneapolis City Council, the city’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Employee Resource Group, and the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department. After the breakfast and performances, the council is expected to consider an honorary resolution recognizing June 2026 as two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual pride month.
Council Member Jason Chavez, who described himself to the paper as "the only out LGBTQ+ person" on the council, called the program "a declaration that 2SLGBTQIA+ culture, artists, and lives belong here" and said, "Minneapolis is doubling down on inclusion," the Star Tribune reports. Chavez and his co-sponsors have framed the morning as equal parts celebration and civic statement in the middle of a broader policy push.
Council Moves and Policy Context
Chavez and other council members have rolled out a package they call "Pride in Policy." It includes proposals to designate Minneapolis as a safe-haven for gender-affirming and intersex health care, prohibit the city from accepting grants that require limits on rights based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and request an update on access to gender-neutral restrooms. City legislative records show those measures, along with related all-gender welcoming ordinances, listed on recent council agendas and notices. The filings appear in the city’s public agenda system, including the council’s Marked Agenda at Minneapolis legislative records.
The council’s wider discussion has also extended to a decades-old ban on adult bathhouses. That debate, including an April vote to send potential changes to staff for more study, is traced in coverage from MPR News.
What to Expect at City Hall
The Pride breakfast and drag performances are scheduled to start at 8 a.m. in the rotunda and are open to the public, with the council meeting and honorary resolution to follow. For official meeting details, information on accessibility accommodations, and any late changes, the city directs residents to its Pride Month bulletin and council calendar at City of Minneapolis.
