PALMERSTON – Minto Pride in the Park added a burst of colour to Palmerston Lions Heritage Park on Sunday – and grey skies and gentle rains didn’t deter over 150 people from showing up to celebrate.
The atmosphere at the event was festive, with pop music, face paint and a range of games.
Pride is “a celebration of love and promoting inclusion for everybody,” said Minto Pride committee chair and Palmerston high school teacher Brayden Scott.
“It’s a time for people from all walks of life to stop and reflect on what it means to be truly accepting and accepted, and the peaceful, positive effect this can have on our community.”
Children competed in potato sack races and tug of war, teenagers made crafts with grandparents, and people of all ages snacked on sugary Beavertails.
Former mayor George Bridge drove a train decked in rainbows around the park as the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community celebrated alongside allies.
Scott said the highlight of the day was “how supportive the community was,” coming together to have a good time, despite the weather.
He estimates between 150 and 200 people attended the event throughout the day, with jackets and umbrellas to keep themselves dry.
People browsed vendors, read pride-themed library books, and watched a performance from Palmerston’s Illustrated Movement Dance Academy.
Many attendees decorated themselves with rainbows too – on their shirts, in their hair, and painted on their faces.
Midway through the event the crowd gathered for a lively march around the park, holding banners, waving flags, and singing songs like Lady Gaga’s Born This Way.
“Marches have long been a part of Pride, dating back to at least 1970, as part of the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Manhattan,” Scott said.
Pride celebrations are important, Scott said, because they increase the visibility of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and promote advocacy, which he notes is especially important for youth.
“Seeing that there’s members of the community that are out and proud” shows queer youth “they don’t have to be afraid to come out.”
He said if these people keep seeing others who “continue to be proud and be out” then there is hope that one day “they will gain that confidence” to come out themselves.
The Minto Pride Committee has recently created a pledge and accompanying decal for businesses and services providers to express their support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
There are eight other volunteers on the Minto Pride Committee: Jess Rowden, Rosie Krul, Caitlin Hall, Samantha Greer, Ellie Rowden, Ivy Norris, Chris Fleet and Raissa Rogers Gooren.
They are always looking for new members to join the committee.
Minto Pride in the Park was sponsored by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, OSiM Interactive, The Crown Harriston, Brenda Atkin, and the Minto Cultural Roundtable.
