Airdrie City council once again declared the month of June as "Pride Month" at their May 16 council meeting, after Airdrie Pride Society president Kiersten Mohr requested the proclamation.
With this decision, the City will raise a pride flag at the old Main Street fire hall throughout the month of June and will illuminate City Hall in rainbow colours on June 18, immediately following the Airdrie Pride Society’s Solidarity Walk.
Those joining the walk will gather at 10:30 a.m. at City Hall. After a land acknowledgment ceremony, the walk will officially kick off at 11 a.m. and participants will trot down Main Street to Nose Creek Regional Park, where Airdrie Pride will be hosting a Pride in the Park festival from noon to 4 p.m.
The one-kilometre walk was chosen by Airdrie Pride in place of a parade this year to pay homage to the LGBTQ2S+ community and those that “fought and died in order to propel us forward into a world of love and acceptance,” said Pride Festival director Connor Boucher.
Particularly, the walk signifies the historical actions of Marsha P. Johnson, who led the Stonewall riots in New York City in June 1969, sparking the gay rights movement, according to Boucher.
“We walk together to kind of celebrate what’s been done in the last few decades because we’ve come a long way in the last few decades but it’s also to acknowledge that there’s still lots of work to be done,” he said.
All Airdrie residents and their pets are invited to join the Solidarity Walk and the Pride in the Park event.
“It’s a celebration for the LGBT2S+ community and allies in Airdrie,” Boucher added.
To start the festivities, Airdrie City council will deliver an address to attendees. Airdrie Pride will also add comments, followed by the raising of the pride flag by Airdrie Pride’s Youth Empowerment group, PRYSM.
Pride in the Park will feature live entertainment, food trucks, and vendors.
Non-binary drag artist Emily Ripley (Rip Em) will be taking the pavilion stage at Pride in the Park. Sharing the stage with Rip Em will be Robert Adam, a rhinestone-clad glam country artist residing in Crossfield. Adam, who was recently a top-12 finalist in the Project WILD competition, will be performing his original songs.
Guests at Pride in the Park can choose from four different food trucks that will be on site. Calgary Fresh Choice Donuts will be frying up hot doughnuts, while Daytona Beach Seafood Tacos will feature a shrimp taco. Vasili’s food truck will serve up Greek cuisine and Meat Street has a wide variety of sandwiches available.
After filling up on lunch, park dwellers can stroll through the park to peruse the 25 vendors on hand. With a mix of non-profits and business vendors, guests can gather information about local organizations or shop for crafted goodies. Airdrie Pride is still accepting vendor applications as of press time and interested parties can apply through Eventbrite.
In light of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the theme of this year’s Pride in the Park event is reigniting the community, according to Boucher.
“It’s a chance for us to get back at it and come back together even stronger,” Boucher said.
“There’s a community here [in Airdrie]. You don’t need to go outside, you can find whatever you need here.”
