Pride kicks off in Saskatoon with prom-themed event
Many in LGBT community couldn't have the prom night they wanted the first time around
At Second Chance Prom, Rachel Loewen Walker hopes to see the dance floor filled with chiffon, tuxedos, and most importantly, LGBT people being themselves at the Saskatoon Pride Festival kick-off event.
"[Prom] was that awkward night of not feeling like you got to be there with the people you really loved, not feeling like you really got to be you," explained Loewen Walker, the OUT Saskatoon Executive Director, during an interview with CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.
Loewen Walker, who helped organize Second Chance Prom, said the inspiration came from another event OUT Saskatoon offers for a younger demographic who are experiencing prom night for the first time around.
"We do run a queer prom for youth every year and we thought, 'what about all those people who didn't get to bring their same sex partners, didn't get to dress exactly the way they wanted?' So that's why we put together Second Chance Prom," Loewen Walker said.
Loewen Walker said a lot of care has gone into ensuring Second Chance Prom will have the right feeling, complete with cardboard decorations depicting clouds and sunshine as well as corsages for sale and prizes for best costume.
"We're not doing prom king and queen because it doesn't quite work in our wonderfully diverse community."
Second Chance Prom is part of the Saskatoon Pride Festival. It's happening at Station 20 West and gets underway at tonight 7:30 p.m. C.S.T.
With files from CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning