Brandon Pride supported by Winkler-area members

The Brandon Pride march through downtown drew hundreds of participants this year, including some from Winkler who were reciprocating support that had been given to their Pembina Valley Pride the day before.

The downtown march was part of Pride Month celebrations in Brandon and drew a wide range of locals, including Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen, Brandon East MLA Glen Simard and Mayor Jeff Fawcett, as well as Pembina Valley Pride president Pauline Emerson-Froebe.

Travelling to attend the Brandon Pride march on Sunday was a “small” way to return the “love they showed us” when they bused to Winkler the day before, Emerson-Froebe said.

“To rearrange everything to help us out in a smaller town, it was so touching,” Emerson-Froebe told the Sun. “We are helping each other out. We may be in different geographic locations, but we can still come together.”

The Brandon Pride rally was held on Sunday as a result of members travelling to Winkler on Saturday, when the rally is normally held. Emerson-Froebe said that Brandon Pride set the “gold standard” for showing support for each other across different communities.

The front steps of city hall were jam packed during the rally, with a pride flag flapping in the wind on one of the city’s flagpoles. Several speakers took to a microphone to speak to the crowd.

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation elder Frank Tacan opened the rally with a prayer in the morning after 11 a.m., and described the community coming together in a tough time.

“Today in this world we shame them, we make fun of them. But we have to understand, humans don’t do that,” Tacan said. “Human beings are very compassionate.”

Tacan said people should engage differently.

“The most important thing in this world is to listen.”

Emily Holland shared her personal story about leaving a marriage and still being supported despite living a new life. She said it is important to continue the momentum in society that gave her support.

“I have to say that it was different vibe years ago for us,” Holland said. “So the community we can generate in Brandon is really important for everyone.

“People who loved me before love me still.”

Brandon Pride chair Nora Wilson said the event’s theme this year was “brick by brick,” which is an homage to the Stonewall riots of 1969 that are generally believed to have given birth to modern Pride movements.

“I like the theme because it talks about dismantling the things that keep us apart,” Wilson said. She described the event as a destructive force that paved the way for a coalition to come together.

Wilson said that rights for the pride community are “fragile” and gatherings help to ensure freedoms are not eroded through gradual changes in culture and law.

“It’s important to do marches to show we are part of the community, we exist, and we are not going anywhere.”

Wilson also noted that she believes there are a number of people in the community who don’t yet know of the event — and it is important to become known by those people.

“We have a job to do to reach out to those people, to bring them together,” she said. “This community needs to keep building.”

Hundreds of participants marched from city hall north to Princess Avenue, west to 18th Street, south to Victoria Avenue and back up to city hall.

Brandon Police Service and Brandon Community Cadets provided the march with a security detail.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com