As Halifax Pride kicks off, focus on fun but also deeper conversations

As Halifax Pride officially kicks off this week, chair Morgan Manzer was back on CBC's Information Morning to talk about some of the key festivities to catch over the next 11 days.

"There's over 130 events that take place during Halifax Pride," he said. "One of the things that Halifax Pride has been focused on over the last several years is knowledge sharing and discussion."

For instance, Pride is hosting an evening speaker series featuring black and Indigenous members of the community.

"We're starting out on Monday night with Polaris and Juno award-winner Jeremy Dutcher, along with former poet laureate Rebecca Thomas. That will be a great session to kick things off," said Manzer.

The public is also welcome to attend Saturday afternoon's Pride parade, followed by main stage performances.

Attendees who are 19 and over can enjoy nighttime dance parties on the Garrison Grounds Friday and Saturday night. Friday's includes drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race and many local performers.

"We're very excited to provide a platform for them," said Manzer.

Manzer said while a lot of ground has been gained by LGBTQ communities, there is still work to be done, particularly on behalf of members who juggle multiple identities.

"People are still feeling left out and left behind," he said.

Manzer pointed to individuals who face added discrimination due to ethnicity, socio-economic status or disability.

"As a person of colour myself, I understand that people's lives involve multiple, interrelated identities," he said. "Queer and trans folks face marginalization and exclusion based on the intersections of those identities."

Manzer, who recently participated in a panel discussion about being black and gay in Nova Scotia, said more complex topics like that can often be overshadowed by "cleaner, more celebratory narratives of victory for the queer community."

Manzer said one major responsibility of Halifax Pride is to provide a platform for those deeper conversations and debates, in order to affect change.

"Our work is not done until every single person in our community feels safe, feels like they are treated with dignity, and they have equal opportunity within society. And there's still a lot of work to be done," he said.

The full schedule of events for Halifax Pride is available online.