As uncertainty looms in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the first-ever Pride Parade is held
HALIFAX — With uncertainty surrounding Halifax’s Pride parade this year, smaller communities in Nova Scotia are stepping up and opening their doors during what some say is a critical time for LGBTQ rights.
Lunenburg County Pride will host the first-ever Pride parade in Bridgewater on the county’s south coast on Sunday.
The parade will be followed by two after parties and a week of events for all ages, including a senior social gathering, flag raising, drag queen storytelling, comedy night, movie night, dog show and drag show and dance.
Lunenburg County Pride Chairman Steve Ellis said the parade has about 40 entries and will likely last about an hour.
With the Halifax Pride parade in the air, he said organizers of the Bridgewater parade are encouraging people to make the roughly hour-long trek to the South Shore event.
“When things started to change with Halifax Pride, we thought it was an opportunity to give people from the city a place to celebrate Pride in case there is no parade or next to it,” Ellis said.
The Halifax Pride parade is set to take place on July 23, but a lack of communication from the parade organizers and the abrupt cancellation of a community information meeting last week has cast doubts over whether it will go ahead.
Halifax Pride organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
The uncertainty in Halifax comes as Pride organizations in Canada face increasing threats, both online and in person.
Anti-LGBTQ protesters have come out to oppose events such as kid-friendly drag performances – also in Kentville, NS
It has made safety a top priority for Pride organizers across the country, with a strong police presence increasingly common at parades.
The northern Ontario city of Timmins budgeted for safety this year — a first in the parade’s decade-long history.
Lunenburg County Pride is working closely with local law enforcement and the city to ensure the safety of all parade organizers, participants and attendees, Ellis said.
“We are aware that some people in our community see that as controversial, as some Pride parades have asked police not to attend,” he said. “But for us this is our first parade. We are in a rural area. We know the climate we are currently in and we wanted to have that protection.
Lunenburg County Pride was founded in 2016 and has added new events each year, including this year’s parade.
Meanwhile, the Pride Cape Breton Society is still accepting entries for the Pride parade scheduled for August 5.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2023.
