The Battlefords Pride Parade Walk held Saturday afternoon was part of the festivities in this year's event. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Celebrating diversity

Pride Week wraps up another successful year, organizers say

Aug 26, 2019 | 11:43 AM

Pride Week has wrapped up in the Battlefords and organizers said they had another successful year.

Several new activities were introduced, including a drag show.

Kelly Waters, a member on the organizing committee, said she received plenty of positive feedback.

“There were lots of beautiful stories. Maybe someone who was struggling with feeling safe, expressing their identity in this community would come up and tell someone in the committee how much they appreciated that this was happening,” she said. “It made them feel they could be safe themselves, and that there are sources of support. That’s why we do it — to raise awareness and celebrate diversity.”

The family-friendly drag show on Wednesday was held at the Third Avenue United Church and saw a full house.

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“We were overwhelmed,” Waters said of the turnout. “There was a huge response. That is definitely a keeper event. We’ll get bigger and better on that one for next year.”

The organizing committee plans to have a better sound system for the show next year, and look for more ways to put the spotlight on the performers to give them a boost of confidence.

Also new this year was a story time event at the North Battleford library as an opportunity for people to share their personal experiences related to LGBTQ issues. Waters said it was moving to hear individuals express how the issue has impacted their lives.

“It was very touching,” she said, adding it gave her a deeper understanding of the challenges people face as they try to be “who they truly are in a hetero-normative society.”

The parade on Saturday had a smaller turnout than last year, but Waters attributes that to some cancellations and other events happening around the same time. Having the Pride Festival at Library Park this year instead of on the street downtown proved to be a good choice, Waters said.

The aim was to avoid another street closure. She said the park was an ideal setting for the festival and live music, and created a relaxing atmosphere for the event.

“We really want to be community-focused, family-friendly, so it definitely fit that,” Waters added.

The barbecue and concert in the downtown park in Battleford on Thursday also went off successfully despite some rain during the start of the show.

Waters said there are always some negative people the committee has to deal with, which is unfortunate. She said this is only more reason to celebrate Pride Week in the Battlefords each year.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @OCoureurDesBois)