Pride Week returning in June

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This article was published 28/03/2022 (1263 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Members of the Brandon Pride community are anxious to bring Westman residents together again in June, as the advocacy group is hard at work planning the 2022 edition of Pride Week.

This year’s event is scheduled to take place June 12-18.

Pride Week last took place in 2019. Like many other events in western Manitoba, it has been cancelled the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pride is a great time of year, but it means much more if you can get out and converse and see people’s faces. It’s gathering as a community,” said Kenneth Jackson, the chairperson of Brandon Pride.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t think people know all of the idiosyncrasies that made our COVID-19 period difficult.”

Jackson said trying to find a way to host events virtually in the Pride community was difficult to co-ordinate, and he’s grateful to be able to bring back events similar in nature to 2019.

He said the advocacy group would need to change some planning, as several of the venues used in the past have either closed or changed how they operate.

“It’s forcing us to look at a few more outdoor events to get people to enjoy the outside after being cooped up,” Jackson said.

After two years of waiting, he is looking forward to the LGBTQ flag-raising ceremony taking place once again at city hall.

“That to me is a symbol of the LGBT2SQ+ community working with our wide community and making a statement by flying our Pride flag,” Jackson said.

“Pride has been around for a very long time. It goes beyond Brandon Pride,” said Aly Wowchuk, vice-chair of the Brandon Pride board.

“It’s a sense of being visible and being noticed within your community. There aren’t a lot of safe spaces for the LGBTQ individuals to be themselves.”

Jackson said they are looking to change up the Pride flag slightly this year, incorporating colours for the transgender and queer communities and to memorialize those in their community who have since passed on.

In past years, Jackson said he is hopeful to bring back some of the partnerships the group has had with SERC Brandon, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba and the Western Manitoba Regional Library.

Events such as open writers’ nights and art displays in addition to the parade march have been popular ideas as well.

“We’re in the process of looking to see whether we can incorporate an event that celebrates our LGBTQ pet owners,” Jackson said.

Jackson describes Pride as a platform to address larger issues happening in our wider world, such as the war in Ukraine and political discourse taking place in the United States.

“We have pride for those who can’t,” Jackson said.

“We see things happening in our wider world that is going to change how things work for quite some time. It has an effect on members of the LGBTQ community outside of Brandon.”

Wowchuk said she is delighted to help the anticipated week return and is eager to reach out to the Pride committee in Souris, which has recently come together.

“We’re hoping to connect with a lot of these smaller communities in the Westman area to bring everyone back together. You’re gay all year around, not just for one month a year,” Wowchuk said as she laughed.

The Brandon Pride community said they will have some more announcements on specific events taking place during Pride Week soon.

» jbernacki@brandonsun.com

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