DIY Pride: The Halifax LGBTQ community is stepping up to celebrate

HALIFAX, NS — LGBTQ communities in Halifax are turning to independently organized events for Pride this summer.

Little communication from official Halifax Pride employees has raised many questions among community members. Some wonder if the festival and parade will go ahead at all.

“We didn’t hear anything, so we decided to take it back,” Jason Spurrell, also known as Rouge Fatale, said in an interview.

“It has nothing to do with retaliation, or harshness, or anything like that. It was just nobody heard of (Halifax Pride).”

Spurrell has been involved with Halifax Pride for over a decade, whether organizing events in the parade or helping out behind the scenes. This year they stepped back from the organization as communication became sparse.

More than 100 independent events will take place during the planned Pride Festival, July 20-30.

With just a week to go until the festival’s scheduled start, organizers have yet to be updated on event scheduling news.

There have been no official announcements from Halifax Pride since a community gathering, scheduled for July 3, was postponed indefinitely.

The annual festival celebrating the LGBTQ community, usually marked by a grand downtown parade, saw a shift in management last fall, with an overhaul of board members and staff positions.

Some independent organizers were in the dark about Halifax Pride’s schedule, which meant last-minute arrangements had to be made when it was announced that the annual parade would take place on July 23, a Sunday, instead of the usual Saturday.

Jay McKellar, founder of Queer Hockey Nova Scotia, originally planned to hold the Pride Cup tournament on Sunday that week to avoid conflict with the parade. According to McKellar, he had been in contact with Halifax Pride to make sure the organization was aware of his plans and skating times.

They never responded, causing McKellar to rush to adjust his scheduled events.

“It’s very confusing, especially for people who come from abroad,” he said.

Halifax Pride has also come under scrutiny in recent years, both internally and externally.

Many former volunteers and employees have spoken out about alleged poor working conditions. In response to these allegations, Halifax Pride posted a statement on Instagram in January announcing that Pride 2023 had been cancelled. The post was quickly removed and Halifax Pride confirmed they would work to address issues at future events.

Adding to the allegations, some people with disabilities attempted to attend events from last year’s festival but found it challenging or even impossible due to a lack of accessibility.

Caden Flynn, a college student and community advocate living with cerebral palsy, said he had to make several public posts on social media before his concerns about accessible seating were addressed by Halifax Pride.

“These spaces pride themselves on being inclusive spaces, but how inclusive can you be when so many members of your community can’t even get through the door?” he said.

Flynn added that despite the difficulties, the hope is that the community will come together.

“Halifax Pride will happen, whether it’s with Halifax Pride or not,” he said.

“The festival is happening because the festival is all over the community.”

A list of all community pride events in Halifax is available on the Halifax Rainbow Encyclopedia website.

The Chronicle Herald reached out to Halifax Pride board members for information on the status of events, but they declined to comment.