The next edition of Flin Flon Pride will take place this weekend, celebrating LGBTQ+ people and their role in the community.
Three events will be held this year for Pride as part of a scaled-back weekend. The first event for Pride will be the official opening and proclamation at Flin Flon City Hall, scheduled for June 7 at 5 p.m. The proclamation will include the traditional raising of the Pride flag at City Hall, where it will fly for the rest of the weekend.
Following that comes the second event of this year’s Pride plans - the group’s annual drag show, officially named “Flin Flon is a Drag”, taking place at Johnny’s Social Club starting at 8 p.m. June 8. The event will feature a trio of regional drag talents, hosted by inaugural Drag Queen Mermaid winner Bijoux and featuring local queens Virgo Moan and Iphelia Pain.
Lastly will be the Flin Flon Pride parade, starting at 11 a.m. June 9 at the former North of 53 Consumer’s Co-op store on Main Street. The parade will run on the same route as the Trout Festival Canada Day parade, but in reverse, starting uptown and winding its way through Flin Flon to Green Street. The parade will end once it reaches Willowvale Park, followed by a barbecue at the former site of the Willow Park Curling Club, hosted by CUPE Local 228.
Anyone hoping to enter a float or walk in the parade can do so by registering at Flin Flon Pharmasave or by messaging the official Flin Flon Pride Facebook page.
This year’s Pride celebration has been scaled back from previous years, due in large part to the organizing committee behind the event shrinking down.
“It’s going to be smaller this year, low-key,” said Jordana Oulette, lead organizer for this year’s Pride event.
“We have a really, really small committee this year - there were five of us yesterday at our first meeting.”
Though there are only three events on the slate for this year’s event, Oulette said there are already plans for next year’s Pride and expanding the celebration.
“We’re planning on making up for it next year,” she said.
“We’ve talked about ideas and we’re not quite ready to share them just yet, but we are excited. We’re going to try some stuff we haven’t done before.”
Volunteers or new committee members are welcomed, said Oulette - she said she wants to avoid “voluntelling people for next year” and said anyone wanting to volunteer should do so through the Flin Flon Pride social media channels.
Despite the scaled-back celebrations, Oulette said continued attacks, both physical and legislative, on queer and trans people and rights in the U.S. and elsewhere prove celebrations like Flin Flon Pride are still important.
“I think it’s as important as ever. I feel like we’re going backwards in time, so the more that we can push through and do things and get people involved, we’re going to try and help make things more inclusive, more welcoming,” she said.
“With such a small committee, we could have passed on doing Pride this year, because we didn’t have any of the resources or time. But we decided that we had to be seen - one voice might not make a lot of noise, but together, we’re loud. I feel that should help encourage people to come in support.”
