How beach bonfires became a staple of St. John's Pride celebration
Beach bonfires started being held by the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the 1980s
St. John's Pride festivities are in full swing across the city, but the annual beach party goes back decades, representing Newfoundland and Labrador's 2SLGBTQ+ history.
The beach party will be held on Tuesday at Topsail Beach, but the event is more than a fun party. Beach bonfires started being held by members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the 1980s, said Susan Rose, who attended the early gatherings.
Rose would go to the bonfires with other friends. She said they would see Pride celebrations in bigger cities like Toronto, and wanted to celebrate too.
"So a group of us just got together and said, 'Let's go to Middle Cove Beach and have a bonfire,'" Rose told CBC Radio's Weekend AM.
Rose said many people feared they could lose their job if people found out they were 2SLGBTQ+.
While homosexuality was decriminalized in Canada in 1969, discrimination based on sexual orientation was outlawed in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1997.
"I always remember being on alert until we were protected," said Rose. "I started teaching in 1985 and I had to be more careful then because I would have lost my job."
The early bonfires were set up in secluded spots behind rocks, because it allowed the people to be somewhat hidden.
Rose said they even had someone on watch.
"I remember feeling, 'Wow, I'm in the closet on the beach.' And that really stuck with me.… That puts you on edge," she said.
At one point, she said, a group of women held a bonfire alone, but found out the hard way that it wasn't safe.
"Of course, we were a bunch of good looking young women and some of the guys there sort of wandered over," said Rose.
Eventually, they started inviting gay men as well.
"Some of us would be sitting there on the rock, with the fire, and holding hands … but you were always sitting … on a hot rock," said Rose.
The beach bonfire became something members of the local 2SLGBTQ+ community began doing every year. Now it is a staple of the Pride celebration.
While the event is usually held at Middle Cove Beach, St. John's Pride spokesperson Ellen Davis said this year it will be held on Topsail Beach because it's more accessible.
"It's a wonderful celebration down there now and there's no need to worry, and everyone can hold hands and hug each other and not be harassed or targeted," said Rose.
And in the event of a fire ban, like the one currently in place provincewide, Davis said an announcement will be made on social media about possibly postponing.
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