Dates have been set for locals to share their LGBTQ+ pride. Lloydminster’s Pride Week 2019 is being celebrated by the LGBTQ+ Society of Lloydminster to celebrate gender and sexual diversity from June 23-29.
The group will be hosting a table at Street Fest the day before the week starts, to help the community get to know them better. A more formal meet and greet will take place on Sunday, June 23 to kick off the week with a free pancake breakfast. While the Tuesday has no formal activities, the Wednesday features a showing of the film “Love, Simon” at a location yet to be determined. The Thursday features a pride art night at Art Soul Life Studio. Local drag queens will be able to show off their talents at a drag show titled “Slay The Night” at the Days Inn Hotel and Suites’ Crown Ballroom.
The week comes to a close on the Saturday with a celebration in Weaver Park Campground. Pride in the Park will be an afternoon of carnival fun, games, a bouncy castle, burgers and vendor marketplace. The whole week aims at bringing the local community of gender and sexual minorities a bit closer to its neighbours. Kale Dudley is a member of the planning committee behind Pride Week and believes it’s important to create a sense of community.
“Just to have all these events for the community and say hey, it’s OK to come out, have a good time, learn and have fun, and have it be a light-hearted thing as well as an educational thing. Having that sense of community is going to make such a difference in many people’s lives. It has for me,” says Dudley.
A lot of work has gone into organizing the week-long event. The LGBTQ+ Society is building off the success of last year’s pride celebrations. Dudley knows that many might be struggling with expressing who they are and hopes that events like these will continue to open doors for the community.
“I’m very excited about it. I think we’re making a lot of progress this year, and hopefully, that continues to grow over the next few years.”
The kick-off breakfast is being hosted at Husky Energy’s office parking lot. The company has recently been in the process of establishing a local LGBTQ+ network for its employees. The local LGBTQ+ Society approached Husky about hosting a community pancake breakfast, and company spokesperson Mel Duvall says they were happy to show their support for the community.
“We were very happy to make the space available. Husky has an active LGBTQ employee network, and we regularly look for opportunities to show our support, as part of our commitment to provide an inclusive environment here at Husky,” says Duvall.
Anyone looking for information about the events or to get their business involved in them can contact the LGBTQ+ Society on Facebook, or by email at [email protected].