To help celebrate Pride in Yellowknife, a number of events are planned throughout the rest of the week.
While the rest of the world celebrates Pride Month in June, Yellowknife has seen a different history with its LGBTQIA+ population, which has resulted in a week of celebration in July as well. A number of events have been set up throughout the final week of the month, all celebrating the different ways people show pride in their identities.
The events are quite varied. A weeklong piercing fundraiser, a cupcake giveaway, comedy nights, drag story times, and a full celebration at the Folk on the Rocks site.
Michael Bokor, the Sponsorship Coordinator for Yellowknife Pride, spoke specifically on the Cupcakes for Commemoration event, and the history that the small act of giving out the treats has had.
“It’s an important event for us. I don’t remember the exact year, but it was the very first event that was run in Yellowknife for Pride, so it was kind of just a way to harken back to those efforts and that group of people who were trying to make Pride a reality in the North. Now, obviously, it’s such a bigger event and much larger in the most recent years, but it makes us happy to be able to have a historical event to show where we came from, and it also kind of reminds people that it’s not over yet; we still need to advocate and fight for our future.”
Coming up on Friday, July 28th, is the Fundamentals event, which allows participants to dip their toes in the water and learn more about performing in drag. Michael was happy to go into more detail.
“We’re giving people opportunities to test drag out in an open and safe environment. It’s not very common in Yellowknife or anywhere for people to be their authentic selves as queer people, so this is an opportunity to allow people to do that, practice an art form that maybe they’ve never had experience with or they’re testing at home, and give them an opportunity!”
A full list of the Pride events scheduled for the week can be found on the Yellowknife Pride Facebook page.
