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Fifth annual Pride Week underway

Week of events provides something for everyone
1906 Pride sup 1
A crowd gathered outside St. ALbert Place Sunday for the flag-raising and proclamation to start off Pride Week.

St. Albert kicked off Pride Week last weekend with the raising of the rainbow flag. Festivities and events will continue throughout the week.

On Sunday, dozens came out to watch Mayor Cathy Heron raise the Pride flag in front of St. Albert Place. Terry Soetaert, Outloud St. Albert's executive director, called the event a success.

“It was excellent. It was exactly what we wanted,” Soetaert said, adding that the mayor also read a proclamation on the Father’s Day Sunday.

Events are planned for every night this week, which kicked off with a poetry night on Monday at the Good Earth Café. Soetaert said the youths who came out had a good time.

“These are kids who are not always vocal,“ Soetaert said, adding the kids who came were happy to be able to express themselves.

On Tuesday night, Pride continued with an “old and new” night where people who have been out in the LGBTQ community share their experiences with those who are new to the community.

“These are people who are very publicly out and ... (can talk about) different pieces being super public. And that of course years ago was dangerous so that's what we want to show the kids, kind of from the horse's mouth exactly what it is like (to be out) and how much better it is now,” Soetaert said.

On Wednesday night, Pride will march on with a drag show at the Kinsmen Coral, a family friendly event featuring mostly youths in drag.

Thursday will feature a two-spirit night at the Collective, an opportunity to learn about and celebrate Indigenous members of the LGBTQ community.

Soetaert said in Indigenous culture, two-spirited people feel like they are both male and female.

On Friday, Outloud has organized a Pride prom at the St. Albert Community Hall for LGBTQ kids who did not have a positive experience at their own high school proms.

“Some LGBTQ kids ... they feel like (they're) not comfortable in their own skin, let alone being paraded across the stage or whatever it is,” Soetaert said, adding that Pride prom is a place where these kids can be celebrated instead of being ridiculed or heckled.

Pride will cap off with the big event at Lions Park on Saturday afternoon in a family friendly festival running from 2 to 6 p.m. The event will have live music, a bouncy castle, face painting, a marketplace and resources for the LGBTQ community.

Soetaert, who was one of the organizers of the week, said they chose the events in order to have something for everybody.

“We wanted things to be more about the individual with St. Albert Pride, where everybody could come together,” Soetaert said.

“We wanted those differences in there for people who, like me, wanted to learn more about the Indigenous two-spirited people,”

Soetaert said the organizing group also wanted to have a place for people to vent their frustrations and a space for kids who have had struggles, prompting events like the poetry night.

“Some of it is really great. Some of it is really dark, but some of these kids are in dark places. So it is what it is. And we celebrate where it is,” Soetaert said.

The organizer said that Pride is still an important event to hold for everyone in the community.

Soetaert said it’s a great place for LGBTQ people to show up and see that their community loves them.

Soetaert said it is a great time for allies, like himself, to show their support for the LGBTQ community and their LGBTQ friends and loved ones.

“If you show up at a Pride event wearing your Pride T-shirt, or flying a little paper flag, that says tons,” Soetaert said.

“The people who are already out love to see that. The people who are still either closeted, or uncomfortable, then at least they can come to a Pride event. They don’t have to wear anything,” Soetaert said.

This year is the fifth anniversary of St. Albert Pride.

All events are free and open to all members of the public and Pride gear will be available for purchase at events.


Jennifer Henderson

About the Author: Jennifer Henderson

Jennifer Henderson is the editor of the St. Albert Gazette and has been with Great West Media since 2015
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