Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

By Tanner Smith

2SLGBTQI+

Grande Prairie Pride Society celebrates Pride Month

Jun 7, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Pride Month runs throughout June, meaning the Grande Prairie Pride Society is putting on multiple events. That included painting the Pride crosswalk.

This year, for the first time the Pride Society painted two crosswalks located at 103 Avenue and 98 Street.

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

More events are planned throughout this month, with the president of the Pride Society Erica Fisher saying she hopes all these different activities make; “people feel like this is a place that they can be themselves, that they at least have a spot and some people in the community that they can relate to, that they can support.”

“This is a way for allies to step up and say ‘I see you, I’m here with you’ and it’s a way to celebrate the community that has so much to give to the City of Grande Prairie.”

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“We’re so lucky to have such a vibrant 2SLGBTQI+ community and this is just one of the ways that we get to celebrate them, and also a way that we can make sure we’re visible.”

Photo of Johnathan Clarkson Board Member for the Grande Prairie Pride Society (Photo Courtesy EGP Staff)

Fisher expanded on the 2SLGBTQI+ community becoming more visible in Grande Prairie, saying “Pride isn’t just a celebration, it’s also a protest.”

“Pride is set in June because that is when the Stonewall Riots happened back in 1969, and that was a huge way for the community to push forward in terms of getting acceptance and having rights.”

She added this tradition of standing up for what’s right continues in the 2SLGBTQI+ community today and is very prominent during Pride month “as we continue to celebrate the people in the community and how far they’ve come, but there is more work to be done.”

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

Two more events are planned this month. The Pride Family Carnival set to run on Saturday, June 8, at the Eastlink Centre, while the Pride Month proclamation and Chamber of Commerce mixer at Grande Prairie Public Library is set to take place later in June.

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

As part of the Family Carnival this weekend, a free pancake breakfast, courtesy of Gallup and the Grande Prairie Rotary Club, will be offered to residents before the carnival, starting at 9 a.m.

Fisher called this event a “staple of Pride, since the beginning of Grande Prairie Pride all those years ago,” and says “carnival performers, rides, and bouncy castles” will all be offered at the event, with no price to attend.”

Anyone wanting more information about Pride Month in Grande Prairie, or the Grande Prairie Pride Society, click here.

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff