Residents praise Willmar Pride events and pitch 'Henley Haven' wedding venue

Several residents used the meeting's open forum to promote Willmar Pride weekend events and to pitch a new local event venue.

Pastor Andres Albertson (1405 19th Ave SE) said Willmar's Pride activities have grown since last year and noted a gubernatorial proclamation declaring June Pride Month; he highlighted a new youth group at the Dream Academy and a monthly "Queer Connections" meetup at the Willmar Community Center. "That night led to monthly rainbow nights ... and regular public meetings to plan something even bigger for this year," he told the council.

Jake Hartgrove (515 Lakeland Dr SE) thanked the council for allowing Willmar Pride events and said the group looks forward to giving back to the community. Sarah Moulton (424 Litchfield Ave) outlined a weekend schedule: a Queer Connections meet-up Friday from 6–8 p.m. at the Willmar Community Center; a kickoff event at Intuition Brewing (roughly 3–9:30 p.m.); Saturday Pride in the Park at Rice Park with a vendor fair, crafts and a DJ; a worship service at Bethel at 6 p.m.; and a drag show at Spurs at 8 p.m. Moulton said many events draw attendees from neighboring communities and that the drag-show tickets were already selling quickly.

Ellery Shipman (1003 6th St SW) described a separate proposal for "Henley Haven," a purpose-built wedding and events venue she said would accommodate about 250 guests, include indoor/outdoor ceremony options, private suites and a prep kitchen, and would drive local vendor and hotel business. She identified parcel 958721050 as the site and said she understood Willmar Municipal Utilities had interest in the parcel; she asked to work with the city to pursue the project.

These open-forum remarks were informational; no formal city action on the venue was taken during the meeting.