NEWS RELEASE
GUELPH PRIDE
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Guelph Spring Pride begins May 31 and continues throughout June with collaborations and an expanded network of community partnerships. The Guelph Pride committee is working hard to bring a successful Spring Pride to Guelph. After organizing one of the most successful and packed Winter Pride festivals Guelph has ever seen back in February, the group is working hard to bring not one, but two, festivals to the city in the coming months.
Traditionally happening in early May, Guelph Pride has pushed the start date of Spring Pride to May 31 to coincide with Pride month and to allow for more events, more sun, and more fun. Some favourite returning events include:
- the Flag Raising (May 24 at 5 p.m. at City Hall)
- the Queer Art Show (May 31 at 7 p.m. at 10C)
- the Pride Dance (June 1 at 8 p.m. at the Guelph Civic Museum)
- Family Pride (June 2 at 1:30 p.m. at Exhibition Park)
- the Seniors Mix n' Mingle (June 6 at 1:30 p.m. at Evergreen Senior Centre)
- and our brand new LGBTQ2IA+ music and art festival, Queeries, June 7-9 at the Rainbow Ridge resort in Grand Valley
The Guelph Pride committee is proud to be working with an array of LGBTQ2IA+ organizations this year, however they are always looking for more support. Third-party organizers can host events during June and receive support and advertising from Guelph Pride. This season, collaborations with amazing organizations helped to bring events such as Family Pride (co-presenting with the Guelph Dance Festival), the infamous Speaking Our Truths event (hosted by the talented people of Guelph Spoken Word), and the new Queeries Festival (in partnership with Make It Wright, Celebrate Your Awesome, and the host location, The Ridge, in Grand Valley.)
With all committee members, volunteers, and third-party event planners having to attend an anti-oppression training, the goal is to ensure all events are inclusive and accessible to our LGBTQ2IA+ community and allies. The committee has also added new mandatory accessibility criteria for all events, to ensure that everyone is able to participate. The committee saw the success of this approach through Winter Pride, which hosted 89 per cent of its events in physically accessible locations, 89 per cent were open to all ages, 89 per cent had gender-neutral washrooms, 64 per cent of events were free (with 90 per cent of events having pay-what-you-can options), 60 per cent of events were sober spaces, and 89 per cent of our events were accessible by public transportation.
“Pride festivals have always played such an important role for 2SLGBTQ+ people finding themselves, seeing themselves reflected in a vibrant community, and feeling included. That means all members should feel able to come out and participate - I’m thankful to be working with a committee that is dedicated to improving the accessibility of our pride festivals as well as expanding the kind of events we’re able to offer. It’s been a big year for Guelph Pride and we’re so excited to show you what we’ve been working on!” - Jasper Smith, Pride Chair 2019
To submit an event during the month of June, visit here. To get your tickets for the Queeries Festival, visit here.
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