St. Anthony's queer community hopes 1st Pride parade provides much-needed representation
St. Anthony's 2SLGBTQ+ community is getting ready to host the town's first Pride parade later this week.
Friday's parade, hosted by the Great Northern Peninsula Queer Hub, will start at the town's baseball field and head to town hall for a Pride flag-raising.
Katie Green, a founding member of the hub, said it's exciting to be part of the team organizing the parade.
"For me, it's all about representation for people who maybe didn't have it growing up, or currently, and just making it a positive thing," Green told CBC News on Monday.
Organizer Renee Pilgrim said the parade planning included discussion of the route itself — whether it should move along a local trail or somewhere more noticeable.
Ultimately, Pilgrim said, they decided to walk through the community on a main street to celebrate the town's diversity and show it as an inclusive space for all.
"What we really wanted was to make sure that our community saw us and had a chance to openly celebrate us as we celebrate, you know, ourselves and being rural, queer people. And also to make sure that people who are looking to feel connected … to make sure that they see us too," Pilgrim said.
"When you take up the space, you're not owning the whole space or kicking anyone else out of the space. You're taking up the space for yourself, for your community to say, 'Hey, I'm here and I'm queer, and, you know, I'm a person who wants to feel safe in my community.'"
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