Winter Pride honours Canadian history, reaches rural communities
GUELPH – Winter Pride is underway, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Toronto bathhouse raids or Operation Soap – a milestone in Canadian queer history.
Local pride events this year include drag bingo at the Palmerston Legion on Feb. 13, Pride Night with the Guelph Storm hockey team on Feb. 27, and a “Dungeons and Drag-Queers” in Guelph on Feb. 12.
Guelph Winter Pride kicked off on Feb. 5 to mark the anniversary of a historic moment often considered Canada’s equivalent of the Stonewall riots – a turning point in the fight for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights in this country.
On Feb. 5, 1981, hundreds of Toronto police officers, armed with crowbars and sledgehammers, stormed four bathhouses and arrested over 300 men for attending or running the bathhouses, sparking a string of protests that changed the course of history for queer Canadians.
On Feb. 5, 2026, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said, “The bathhouse raids were a horrid mistake and a serious stain on Toronto’s reputation, a scar a community feels to this day,” according to CBC.
“It was wrong. It was shameful. And we remember,” Chow said, while announcing the city will unveil a plaque in June to commemorate the raids.
Out on the Shelf (OOTS), a 2SLGBTQIA+ library and resource centre in Guelph, is hosting a range of events to celebrate Winter Pride.
OOTS also offers free workshops throughout the year, geared specifically for rural service providers.
Rural education coordinator Shyanne Favaro said Winter Pride matters because it acknowledges Canadian history while making space for people to “celebrate, show up, belong, be authentic, take up space and most importantly: experience joy.”
That’s particularly necessary in the current political climate, as policy and progress is being rolled back, which amplifies the importance of finding strength in community and taking steps forward together, Favaro said.
It’s important to look at what’s happening nearby, including the push back on pride flags in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and a recent event at the University of Guelph where people showed up wearing shirts with racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic messages, she said.
Things like this are a reminder of the urgency of banding together as a united front and showing “we will protect 2SLGBTQIA+ rights,” Favaro said.
But it’s also important to take a step back and lean on community: “Sometimes we get so wrapped up in all the bad news that we forget that there’s community out there, and we can live normal lives,” Favaro said, so OOTS works to create space for that.
OOTS offers customized workshops, free of charge, available to all service providers in Wellington County and Guelph, including schools, long-term care homes, churches, municipalities and youth centres.
Favoro said she’s motivated to offer these workshops because over a decade working with children has shown her that, most of the time, people are good and have good intentions – “they just have a lot of questions and aren’t sure where to get answers.”
The OOTS workshops are a place to find answers, she said.
Favaro focuses on offering these workshops in Wellington County, while Cas Harwood coordinates workshops within Guelph.
Anyone interested in arranging a workshop can contact Favaro at tp-rural@outontheshelf.com.
Favaro said she’s excited about the Winter Pride event happening in Wellington County this year.
The Drag Bingo *Love Edition* is organized by Minto Pride and hosted by Troyboy Parks. It will take place from 7 to 10pm on Friday, with tickets available for $15 at mintopride-bingo.eventbrite.ca.
Favaro is also looking forward to Pride Night at the Guelph Storm, where the Storm will face off against the Niagara Icedogs at the Sleeman Centre – the Storm’s home ice in Guelph and also the filming location of Heated Rivalry, a popular new show about gay hockey players.
For more on Winter Pride events visit outontheshelf.com/pride/winter-pride.
Guelph Pride is seeking a chair of its committee to facilitate the organization of two annual Pride festivals. Anyone interested in volunteering as Guelph Pride chair can email OOTS chair Athena Van Nacht at chair@outontheshelf.com.
