The pride flag is now officially flying over B.C.’s northern capital.
A crowd gathered this morning (July 3) on the steps of Prince George City Hall to see the rainbow flag hosted up to mark the start of Pride Week.
“We raise the flag every year usually on the Wednesday before the pride parade,” says Susan Trabant, president of the Prince George Pride Society.
She says raising the pride flag is about celebration but also about the expectation of Prince George as an inclusive community.
“It’s frustrating. I posted on Facebook yesterday (July 2) that we were going to do the flag raising and immediately someone asked why it is that we need to do a flag raising,” says Trabant. “We need to do a flag raising because we want to be visible. We don’t want to be a community that has be hiding or trying to avoid persecution. This is about us being out and being open and having pride.”
Prince George Drag Queens Ms. Fondle and Ivanna B’Alone also attended the flag raising.
“I want people to know that we are all inclusive to everyone we are about having a good time,” says B’Alone. “We want to remind the world that not everywhere is it safe to be gay or lesbian or out in any form. So it’s important that we celebrate and experience life together so it’s inclusive again.”
And there is goes! The #Pride flag is officially flying in the #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/lXbxZvV2FO
— Hanna Petersen (@hannaepeter) July 3, 2019
Pride festivities take place all weekend and include a family-friendly bowling event on Friday, the pride parade on Saturday at 11 a.m. at 2nd Ave. and George Street followed by the pride festival, and an evening drag show and dance.
Before the flag was officially raised and July 3 to 10 was officially declared pride week, Mayor Lyn Hall read the official proclamation, which was created to designate Prince George as an inclusive city.
“Whereas Prince George is an inclusive accepting community providing opportunity for all to come together to celebrate their diversity and whereas Prince George is designated as a hate activity free zone, and whereas we encourage the affirmation everyone regardless of his or her ability, age, class, race, religion, sex, gender, identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation and whereas in recognition and worth of all people in honour and respect for our differences we can participate as individuals and members of our diverse community. Therefore, as Mayor of the City of Prince George I proclaim July 3 to 10 as Pride week in the city of Prince George. “
As well as Mayor Hall and Coun. Kyle Sampson, many representatives from Prince George’s queer community were on hand to support the flag raising and upcoming pride events.
“We’ve come a long way and I’m really excited about that,” says Bryn Hanks co-creator of Gender Outlines Transgender Society, which has been running in Prince George for 11 years. “It started out as support group for transgender individuals to come together and talk about challenges that we are facing, what it’s like to go on hormone treatment, what the surgery is like, who is friendly in Prince George and who is not friendly.”
He says Gender Outlines also runs an ally support group which is a safe space for people to ask questions and learn more about transgender issues.
“People have concerned and they have worries and sometimes you can’t talk to your child about the concerns you have if they are transitioning and so it provides people somewhere else to come to ask these questions,” says Hanks.
You can visit Gender Outlines booth at the pride festival for more information or find them on Facebook.
Shane Gillick facilitator of Mpowerment PG, which is an event-based group for queer and transgender people was also at the flag raising.
“We do two events a month usually and it’s a mix between social events and discussion nights,” says Gillick. “Empowerment Prince George runs under a lens of HIV stigma reduction and HIV impact reduction and so those discussion nights focus on that in different ways.
He says MPowerment PG will also be walking the pride parade and have a booth set up at the festival.
And for the full schedule of pride week events check out the Prince George Pride Society on Facebook for events, times, places and any updates!
