Pride activities slated for this weekend

June is Pride Month and communities in the Lakeland are recognizing the LGBTQ+ community with events this weekend.

This morning, the City of Cold Lake is raising the Pride flag at 11:00am at City Hall, in conjunction with the Cold Lake & District FCSS.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Pride St. Paul has their annual event, this year at the Mannawanis Friendship Centre.

Lesley Frick with Pride St. Paul says it is meant to be a gathering for everyone, and people with questions can learn about their group from noon until 4:00PM during their Rainbow Rendezvous.

“We’re really excited about the event,” Frick told Lakeland Connect. “We’re looking forward to Pride Month, and we’re looking forward to doing more community based events in the future, not just during Pride Month, because we also think it’s important to acknowledge and address the supports needed for the community all throughout the year.” 

Now registered as a non-profit in St. Paul, they have over 20 regular volunteers who help organize events.

A variety of activities are planned on Sunday, including market vendors, face painting, tattoos, bingo, and a DJ for a family dance. Admission to the event is a cash or non-perishable food donation to the St. Paul Food Bank.

Hosting at Mannawanis is purposeful, explained Frick, who said there’s a link between Pride Month and Indigenous History Month.

“In recognition of the intersectionality of the queer community and the Indigenous community just being that a lot of concepts like such as racism, homophobia, transphobia, has come out as our products of colonization. We think it’s really, really important to foster that relationship and connect with the Native Friendship Centre to join in celebration with each other and continue to celebrate the growing diversity of St. Paul as a whole,” she said. 

Support group meetings, their S.A.G.E Haven (Sex and Gender Equality Haven), will be held on June 12 and 26th. In the current political climate, Frick said, the opportunity to have a place for support and make connections is important.

With that said, Frick added that Pride St. Paul is happy to answer questions that people may have, and encourages discussion for those genuinely curious.

“There’s been a lot of harmful rhetoric and false information that’s being perpetuated in our province, and well, in Canada as a whole. So we saw and acknowledged a need for just a space where like-minded people can kind of come together and find support within each other.”