It was the 6th or 7th year that the OnMilwaukee Love Bus appeared in the Milwaukee Pride Parade. We can't remember the exact number of years because it's all a rainbow kaleidoscope blur of adrenaline and warm fuzzies.
But one thing we're certain of: this year was the most passionate parade we'd experienced. It started to rain right before step-off and continued to rain on and off throughout the parade. But it didn't matter. The crowd and the parade people were in accelerated merriment and unfazed by the raindrops. Joy and bliss, it turns out, are waterproof.
The Pride Parade is extremely family-friendly, and there are a lot of kids cheering on the sidelines. Hence, many groups throw candy from their floats. OnMilwaukee did as well – for the first year. Sometime between OnMilwaukee's first Pride Parade and second Pride Parade, my friend and colleague Carolynn Buser and I visited Van Holten's Pickle-In-A-Pouch factory and distribution center in Waterloo. We toured the facility and sampled every pickle they were packaging at the time.
As soon as I saw the "Hot Mama" and "Big Daddy" pickle in a pouch, I had an idea: what if – instead of candy – we lightly tossed pickles in a pouch during the Pride Parade? (I mean, c'mon. With names like these, the pouched pickles are pride parade perfection!) A few months later, I contacted the President of Van Holten's, asking him if he wanted to sponsor the Love Bus in return for cases of pickles. He said yes!
The pickle costumes were added last year, and we have more pickle-tastic plans for the 2026 parade. But for now, we are still relishing (ahem) in yesterday's exhilarating Pride experience. Love, pride and pickles to all.
Here are five OnMilwaukee Love Bus photos from the 2025 Pride Parade:
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
