Pride Winnipeg

Last updated
Pride Winnipeg Festival
Pride Winnipeg Festival Logo.jpg
StatusActive
GenreFestival
Date(s)May 26 - June 4, 2023
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s) Winnipeg, Manitoba
Country Canada
Years active27
Inaugurated1987
Most recentMay 27 - June 5, 2022
Attendance50,000
Website www.pridewinnipeg.com

Pride Winnipeg Festival is a 10-day LGBT pride festival, held annually in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. [1] It is one of the largest organized pride festivals in central Canada, featuring 10-days of community-organized events, a Dyke March, a rally, Pride Parade, outdoor festival and closing party.

Contents

The Pride Winnipeg Festival is organized by Pride Winnipeg, a non-profit, volunteer organization. Pride Winnipeg currently consists of a president, vice-presidents, directors, coordinators, and managers. The current president is Barry Karlenzig.

History

On August 2, 1987, approximately 250 people gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building to await the results of the provincial government's decision to include sexual orientation in the Manitoba Human Rights Code. The consensus was that if the government voted in favor of including sexual orientation in the code they would march in celebration, if the government voted against including sexual orientation in the code they would march in protest. [1]

The provincial government voted in favor of adding sexual orientation to the Manitoba Human Rights Code, which sparked the first 'Pride Parade' in Winnipeg as the 250 people marched in the streets of downtown Winnipeg in celebration.

Over the years the festival has grown in size but despite the advancements of LGBT rights the event has battled mayors, most notably Susan Thompson, who refused to recognize the event with civic proclamations. [2]

A theme is selected for each Pride Winnipeg Festival that reflects current events and contexts of the LGBT community and helps shape festivities. Previous themes included "Proud to Be" (2010), "Unity" (2011), "Pride 25" (2012), "equALL" (2013), "withOUT Borders" (2014) "EVOLution" (2015), "Be Authentic" (2016), "Resurgence: Taking Back Space” (2017), "My First Pride" (2018), and "Pride of Colour" (2019).

Pride 25

In 2012, the Pride Winnipeg Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary. The Festival took place from May 25 - June 3 and was the largest LGBT celebration the city had seen at that time. The festival featured a record number of community events and received overwhelming support from both citizens and businesses.

Lighting of the Legislative Building

As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, Pride Winnipeg worked with the provincial government to light the six columns of the Manitoba Legislative Building in each of the colors of the rainbow flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). On June 1, 2012, a small ceremony took place on the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building to commemorate the event. The Manitoba Legislative Building was successfully lit in rainbow colors at dusk with the 'Pride 25' theme logo being projected onto the dome. In doing so, pictures of the building went viral on a global scale.

equALL

The 2013 parade began with a rally on the grounds of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, [1] followed by a parade along York and Broadway Avenues. [3] Following the end of the parade, a community festival was held at The Forks, featuring performers including Vita Chambers, Kristina Maria and Ultra Naté. [4] The parade was also marked by the presence of the I'm Sorry campaign, a group of Christians working to heal the legacy of homophobia between Christian churches and the LGBT community. [5]

Events

Rainbow flag raising

The Pride Winnipeg Festival normally commences with the raising of a rainbow flag at City Hall on the first Friday of the festival. The flag is typically risen by either the mayor or a city councillor, president of Pride Winnipeg, and a special guest.

Community events

After the rainbow flag raising various community events are held throughout the city. These events are not organized by Pride Winnipeg but are recognized as official pride festival events. Certain events have become synonymous with the Pride Winnipeg Festival such as the Pitch for Pride baseball tournament, the Pride Coffee House, Lesbian Lube Wrestling, Rainbow Resource Centre BBQ, and the Dyke March.

Pride Festival at The Forks

2022 festival Pride Sunday in Winnipeg (52125008316).jpg
2022 festival

The Pride Festival at The Forks begins on the last Saturday of the celebrations and runs on the following Sunday (Pride Day). The Pride Festival at The Forks occurs on the adjacent lawns of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and consists of an array of on-stage entertainment, artisans, vendors, entertainment for youth, and the Queer Beer tent. This event draws the largest crowd during the Pride Winnipeg Festival with attendance peaking on Pride Day after the Pride parade.

Pride Rally

The Pride Rally is an annual tradition in honor of the 250 people who first gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building in 1987. It occurs in the late morning of Pride Day at the Manitoba Legislative Building and usually includes motivational speeches from a representative of each level of government and special guests.

Pride Parade

The Pride Parade begins after the Pride Rally and makes its way through downtown Winnipeg. In 2014 the parade traveled north up Memorial Blvd, then East down York St, south onto Garry St, then west down Broadway Ave back to The Manitoba Legislative Building. The parade features a grand marshal, honorary youth marshal, and honorary community group marshal, all of which are nominated by the community.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Pride</span> Annual LGBTQ+ event in San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration, usually known as San Francisco Pride, is a pride parade and festival held at the end of June most years in San Francisco, California, to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Pride (Ottawa)</span> Annual LGBT pride week festival in Ottawa, Ontario

Ottawa Capital Pride is an annual LGBTQ pride event, festival, and parade held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Gatineau, Quebec, from mid to late August. Established in 1986, it has evolved into a 7 to 9-day celebration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, advocating for equality, diversity, and inclusion in the National Capital Region. The festival offers bilingual events in English and French, known as 'Capital Pride / Fierté dans la capitale', seamlessly blending local pride with national importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Georgia (country)</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Georgia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. However, Georgia is one of the few post-Soviet states that directly prohibits discrimination against all LGBT people in legislation, labor-related or otherwise. Since 2012, Georgian law has considered crimes committed on the grounds of one's sexual orientation or gender identity an aggravating factor in prosecution. The legislative ban on discrimination has been enacted as a part of the Government efforts to bring the country closer to the European Union and make the country's human rights record in line with the demands of Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

This is a timeline of notable events in the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Canada. For a broad overview of LGBT history in Canada see LGBT history in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Kosovo</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Kosovo have improved in recent years, most notably with the adoption of the new Constitution, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Kosovo remains one of the few Muslim-majority countries that hold regular pride parades.

Throughout the year, different organizations host pride parades in Nepal. Blue Diamond Society, an LGBT rights organization, in 2010 organized Gai Jatra Gay March, with most participants on masks to prevent being identified by suspected homophobic people. In recent years, many pride parades in different times of the years have been organized. Due to criticism of Blue Diamond Society for organizing pride parade in Gaijatra festival many organizations deviated into new rallies. All the parades by Blue Diamond Society have coincided with the Gaijatra festival. The parades end with a candle-light vigil in memories of those who died in the past year, promoting equality for all.

Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis PrideFest</span> Annual event in Missouri

PrideFest St. Louis is an annual LGBT pride event in St. Louis, Missouri. The event is organized by Pride St. Louis, an LGBT non-profit organization in the Greater St. Louis area. Between 350,000-500,000 people attend the two day festival and grand parade.

<i>Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride</i> 2009 Canadian film

Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride is a 2009 documentary directed by Bob Christie, where he examines relevance of LGBT pride celebrations internationally, against the backdrop of opposition to such events in a number of countries. The documentary tries to portray pride as more than just a parade, but rather an important step on the road to equality and fight against homophobia and discrimination. It was produced with Transmission in association with Border2Border Entertainment and Nomadic Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Pride</span> LGBT non-profit in San Diego, California

San Diego Pride is a nonprofit organization based in San Diego, California. The organization operates various year-round programs, including an annual weeklong celebration every July, focusing on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The event features a Pride Parade on a Saturday, preceded by a block party and rally in the Hillcrest neighborhood the night before, and followed by a two-day Pride Festival on Saturday and Sunday in Balboa Park. Pride week is believed to be the largest annual civic event in the city of San Diego. The parade has more than 300 floats and entries, and is viewed by a crowd of over 250,000 people.

Queer Azaadi Mumbai Pride March, also called Queer Azaadi March and Mumbai pride march, is an annual LGBTQIA pride parade that is held in the city of Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra, India. It usually begins from Gowalia Tank ending at Girgaum Chowpatty. It, along with the Pride Week, is organized by Queer Azaadi Mumbai, a collective of organizations and individuals working for the rights of LGBTQIA community. The participants of the march include people from the LGBTQIH community as well their "straight allies", from India and outside. In addition to being a celebration of queer pride, the pride march and related events are a platform to ask for equal rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Pride Parade</span> Annual LGBT event in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Pride Parade is an annual march in Hong Kong in support of LGBT rights. Homosexuality has been legal in Hong Kong since 1991 but there is no legal recognition of any same-sex relationships and limited protection against discrimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calgary Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in Calgary, Alberta

Calgary Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The event is organized by Pride Calgary, a non-profit organization, and is currently held in the final week of August, with the closing parade falling on the first weekend of September when necessary, each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in Edmonton, Alberta

The Edmonton Pride Festival is a 2SLGBTQ+ pride festival, held annually in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guelph Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in Guelph, Ontario

Guelph Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Minsk Pride is a gay pride parade in Minsk, Belarus. This is a festival in support of tolerance for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in Belarus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chennai Rainbow Pride</span> LGBTIQA+ Pride March

The Chennai Rainbow Pride March has been held by members of Tamil Nadu LGBTIQA+ communities every June since 2009. The pride march is organised under the banner Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, which is a collective of LGBT individuals, supporters, and organizations working on human rights and healthcare for the LGBTQIA community. The Pride March occurs on the final Sunday of June every year. The Pride March is usually preceded by a month-long series of events organized by NGOs and organizations to inculcate awareness and support for the LGBTQ community, such as panel discussions, film screenings, and cultural performances. The Chennai Vaanavil Suyamariyadhai Perani a.k.a. Chennai Rainbow Self-Respect March is known for being inter-sectional in nature as it addresses issues with multiple axes such as caste, class, religion coupled with gender discrimination.

Steinbach Pride is an annual pride march and rally in Steinbach, Manitoba. The first event, which was attended by 3,000 people, was held on July 9, 2016. It garnered national attention in Canada after no elected officials of the area chose to attend.

Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk (KRPW) is the oldest pride walk in India and South Asia. The first march in Kolkata was organised on 2 July 1999. The walk was called The Friendship Walk. Kolkata was chosen as the first city in India to host the march owing to Kolkata's history of movements for human and Political Rights. Currently, Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk is organised by the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival (KRPF).

The Chandigarh LGBTQ Pride Walk is an annual march held as part of the "Garvotsava" pride week celebrations in Chandigarh, the capital city of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. The event aims to celebrate and bring together the LGBTQ community and its supporters.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.