Pride begins in Thunder Bay with events planned for the rest of June
Thunder Pride and the Rainbow Collective mark the start of Pride Month by raising Pride Flag.
A flag-raising ceremony at Thunder Bay's city hall on Friday kicked off the northwestern Ontario municipality's 14th year of Pride Month celebrations, but events are planned to celebrate over the next four weeks.
Acting Mayor Kasey Etreni, Mayor Ken Boshcoff and MP Patty Hajdu were among the few notable figures who raised the flag in solidarity with representatives from Thunder Pride and the Rainbow Collective, which partnered to organize the ceremony.
Together, these community leaders and associations called for greater local efforts to embrace and celebrate the diversity of the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Jason Veltri, president of the Rainbow Collective, attended and spoke before the flag-raising. He said for him the flag makes visible the hundreds of 2SLGBTQIA+ people at City Hall who see themselves in their city and in the fabric of Thunder Bay.
"We are a mosaic of diverse experiences, identities and narratives united by a common thread of courage and solidarity," said Veltri. "This is the unity that propels us forward even in the face of adversity."
He added the ceremony also served to show the massive calendar of events that Thunder Pride and the Rainbow Collective have planned for everyone participating in Pride Month, including a larger-than-before festival and paint night with Patrick Hunter, a two-spirit Ojibway artist from Red Lake.
"We've been trying to get Patrick for years and to have him here," Veltri said. "To recognize Indigenous culture and non-Indigenous culture, that is really important to me."
Chief Michele Solomon of Fort William First Nation also attended the event to share her thoughts on the importance of equality.
On behalf of her people and council at Fort William First Nation, she said she was not only grateful to have the opportunity to participate in the ceremony, but also to share love, kindness and respect with those attending.
"We all need people to look up to in life, and too oftentimes, when I was growing up, there were not enough people to do that. So to have people that we can look up to that are going to accept us for who we are that is so important," said Solomon.
Coming together for the future
Scotia Kauppi, chair of Thunder Pride, also said that by hoisting the flag, those in Thunder Bay's 2SLGBTQIA+ community are shown "the world is kind and that they can be who they are as they grow up."
"As especially our youth grow up more and more in the age of the Internet and social media, where you can really sink down and get bogged down by hate and so much information about you, misinformation and just things that are depressing," said Kauppi. "It's good to see that in real life when you go out, people are welcoming, kind and respectful and loving."
To better meet youths' desire for more change in the future of Pride, they added that for Pride Month, they will also hold several events for all ages over the month of June, including the Pride parade on June 15.
These events will lead up to the festival and charity Drag Bingo night at the end of the month.
More information on events, times, and venues is on Thunder Pride and the Rainbow Collective websites.
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