The rainbow flag will be raised at Humboldt City Hall for the fifth year in a row. (Facebook/Humboldt Pride)

By Aaron Schulze

Humboldt Pride

Humboldt hosting fifth Pride Week in August

Jul 29, 2019 | 6:02 PM

For the fifth year in a row, the City of Humboldt will host a Pride Week.

Mayor Rob Muench proclaimed Aug. 19 to 26 will be Pride Week in Humboldt, following a letter from Humboldt Pride’s Organizer Andrew Matheson. The letter requested city hall to raise the rainbow flag during a formal ceremony.

Muench told northeastNOW Humboldt is an inclusive community and it’s important to recognize it.

“We have a council that recognizes that as something we need to do as a city,” Muench said. “It’s something that not only we have, but the previous council has recognized that as part of inclusiveness in our community.”

Pride Week 2019 in Humboldt will be Matheson’s fourth year participating and third year organizing. He said there are fewer questions, quicker responses, and more people in the community willing to help every year he organizes the celebration.

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“A couple of years ago hosting my first pride in Humboldt, there was a lot of work and time and effort in pushing it forward,” Matheson said. “This year I’ve had people coming to me asking how they can help. Seeing that push from other community members is inspiring to show how far we’ve come in the City of Humboldt alone.”

The community support Matheson mentioned appears to be true with attendance. He said last year’s flag raising ceremony at Humboldt City Hall had nearly 40 people attend – including politicians and RCMP officers – compared to a smaller group of 12 during the first year.

“We even have people emailing us asking to be a part of, or speak and show their support as an ally or a member of the community wanting to get involved in Pride Week,” he said.

Matheson and Humboldt Pride have plans to continue expanding in the community. He said they have plans to host a bowling night and participate in the Humboldt Street Fest, and the Humboldt Rainbow Coffee meetings. All events aim to provide support, raise awareness, and education to youth who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Allied, two-spirited, etc. (LGBTQIA2S+). The events have been able to run during the summer months as well as the school year due to a growing attendance.

The official flag raising ceremony for Humboldt Pride Week will take place at city hall on Monday, Aug. 19 at noon.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow