Pride month in the prairies
How pride was celebrated in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Brandon, Manitoba
Happy Pride Month! During the month of June, we celebrate Pride Month with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Held yearly in June to honour the Stonewall Riots of 1969, Pride is a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ people gather and celebrate. A variety of events are held throughout the month with the most popular being the Pride parade. During the parade, people take to the streets to march and celebrate, and sometimes protest depending on current events.
In June of 2022, many places were having their first Pride parades and other events since the start of the pandemic. A lot of people came out to experience the festivities after the initial lockdowns were lifted after spending their time alone, reflecting on themselves. I was one of those people, and this year was my first Pride.
Regina, home of the Carillon, was one of many places around the world that celebrated Pride this year. However, I was not at Regina Pride; I was present for Brandon Pride in Manitoba. I learned that different cities do different events, and they market them differently.
As a disclaimer, I am not trying to say here that one city does Pride better than the other or that one city needs to change to be more like the other. It is important that we are celebrating Pride in different places across the prairies, and that we can do so safely and happily.
To start, let’s talk about the parade. Regina’s Pride parade was on June 11, and Brandon’s was on June 18. I was unable to find an exact number of attendees for the Regina Pride parade, but someone who was there estimated hundreds to thousands and that the group of participating people was at least a mile long. The Brandon Pride Instagram page states that they estimate over 1000 people. One of the biggest differences between the two cities were the floats in the parades: Regina had floats and Brandon did not. Both parades ended at a park where there were events, booths, and performances.
The biggest difference I found between the two cities’ Pride events was how they were marketed online. Both cities had a Pride week full of events for people to go to, but I found it difficult to find out what they were in Regina. I had to go to the Queen City Pride website, find the festival information, and then look at a guide. Brandon Pride advertised heavily on social media the plans for Pride week. It was easy to see what was happening, where, and when. On the other hand, once I was able to find Regina’s Pride Week events, there were a lot more happening during the week.
Regarding events, Regina had a lot of workshops and panels. Almost every day during Pride week had a workshop or panel taking place that you could attend. There were several events occurring each day in Regina. Meanwhile, Brandon had fewer events taking place with some days only having one and others a maximum of three. Regina had a good balance between activities for teens and adults. Frequently there were late-night club activities for adults and art activities for younger people. All of Brandon’s events seem to be for all ages, outside of the trivia night at the brewing company. Both cities had Pride Sunday services, but Brandon didn’t advertise theirs on social media, while Regina had theirs detailed in the Pride Guide.
No matter where you were this Pride Month, I hope you were able to enjoy some of the activities taking place in your area. It’s important to be able to go out and celebrate who you are. It’s important to be able to look around and see people that are like you and be around others who may understand some of the struggles that you know. Pride Month is important and it’s important to see and recognize how far the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has come and where they’ll go from here. Happy Pride Month.
