Eastman Pride helps bring celebrations to rural Manitoba communities this summer

Several first-time Pride events are coming to rural Manitoba communities this summer, as a local group works to spread the message of Pride throughout the province, and into places where they believe it's needed now more than ever. 

"It's something that I think has been a long time coming in our area," said Kathy Majowski, one of the founding members of Eastman Pride. "It's very exciting." 

On Sunday, Eastman Pride will host the Beau-Head Pride Celebration, the first Pride event to take place in the town of Beausejour. It will include community members from the neighbouring rural municipality of Brokenhead and beyond.

The group is also hosting or supporting Pride events this summer at Powerview-Pine Falls (which happened earlier this month), Pinawa, the rural municipality of Whitemouth, Lac du Bonnet and Victoria Beach.

Eastman Pride was founded with the goal of bringing Pride events to more communities in the Eastman region, Majowski said.

She also has a personal reason for wanting to see Pride events in small and rural communities. 

"I live in Tyndall, and my daughter is part of the queer community and she's a teenager, and we've always enjoyed going to the Pride Winnipeg events and participating in that," she said. 

"But having something closer to home was important for me, for her to see that it's not just Winnipeg where she belongs. It's across our province that she is welcome."

Majowski said she knows many young members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community struggle to find acceptance and a sense of community in rural areas, and they're often forced to deal with negative comments and prejudices. 

"Those negative voices by far are in the minority, but they can be very loud and they can be very ugly,"  Majowski said.

"So when the youth hear that, that can be a big motivation for our group."

The group was also inspired to organize as many Pride events as possible in the area after a woman who was trying to organize Pride events last year was publicly criticized by some community members at a public council meeting, Majowski said.

"There were some people that came to that meeting that were against it, and they essentially intimidated that individual, and they didn't feel safe hosting that event after that meeting," she said. 

"That was our last straw. When we heard about that, we were like, 'Yeah, we need to do this.'"

She stressed those negative comments came from community members and not from members of council, and she did not want to say where in Manitoba the incident happened. 

"The councils themselves have been overwhelmingly supportive," Majowski said. 

Pinawa Coun. Michael King attended a Pride event that was held in Pinawa on Sunday, and he hopes to see more public figures show up at these kinds of events. 

"I thought it was just important, with some of the rhetoric going on, to show solidarity with the queer community and just with all people," King said. 

"It sends a message that it's a safe community and accepting community, so I just wanted to be part of that."

King said it was also important for him to take his young son to the event, in part due to some of the negative rhetoric about the 2SLGBTQ+ community that he sees being increasingly targeted at boys and men online through algorithms and social media. 

"There were a bunch of kids there. My son went, and a bunch of his friends were there, and I also thought it was good there were a lot of men there," he said. 

"I think that for men, when it comes to being an ally, just be compassionate to people and let them live their lives. It's really not that complicated.

"We can treat everyone with dignity and respect. I don't think that's super radical."

This weekend's Pride event in Beausejour will have volunteers from the Winnipeg River Area Lions Club helping out. 

"The Lions are all about inclusivity. Everybody is welcome and everybody is treated equally," Winnipeg River Area Lions Club president Leslie Joyce said. 

"And we focus on marginalized people. We're looking for where we can bring people in and improve their quality of life."

The local Lions Club has been very impressed with the work and the passion of the members of Eastman Pride in setting up this year's events, she said, and she feels the group's mandate and their work ethic fits well with what the Lions Club is trying to do in eastern Manitoba communities. 

"The more I attend those meetings, the more I see the passion of the individuals who want to make a difference and who want to create a safe space," Joyce said.  

"So yeah, as Lions, this just fits perfectly with what we believe."

Sunday's Pride event in Beausejour is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. at the Train Whistle Park. Those taking part will do a walk around the town, and return to the park for a community barbecue and celebration that will feature speakers, live music and activities for people of all ages. 

A full list of Eastman Pride events taking place this summer can be found online by visiting the group's Facebook or Instagram pages.