By Dominic Abassi

Rainbow bright: Nanaimo Pride festival marks 20 years of progress

Jun 9, 2017 | 7:35 PM

NANAIMO — What turned out to be one of Nanaimo’s biggest celebrations of last year is set for round two this weekend.

The Nanaimo Pride Society’s second annual Pride parade and festival takes over downtown Saturday, June 10.

Society vice-president Lauren Semple told NanaimoNewsNOW they were blown away by the love and support their first event received last year. She said the roughly 10,000 people that turned out more than tripled their expectations.

“We learned that Nanaimo has big hearts and big open arms for our society in our community,” Semple said. “The people of Nanaimo were ready to celebrate love in a new and inclusive and big way so we had to do everything on a bigger scale this year.”

She said that included bumping up the number of sanctioned events to nine, as well as making the parade and festival in Maffeo Sutton Park bigger. Events this year include Pride pet parade and dance on June 17 and a comedy show at the Old City on June 16.

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While this is only the second year featuring a parade and festival, 2017 marks a special anniversary for the local Pride Society. Semple said they’re celebrating 20 years since their first march on the waterfront in 1997. She said Nanaimo has changed in a big way since then.

“The biggest thing I’m seeing is that our allies are growing. Our community is rising up and supporting an inclusive and welcoming community for everyone…regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Semple said things like the Pride flag, which was raised at Nanaimo City Hall Friday evening, and the four rainbow crosswalks downtown are important symbols of progress. Despite those positive signs, Semple said things like housing, healthcare and employment discrimination are prevalent.

“Pride Week is about celebrating how far we’ve come while also looking forward and getting ready for the fight ahead with our allies, family and community members standing beside us.”

Mayor Bill McKay will take part in the parade again this year. He said the way the community supported the event last year is a sign of “Nanaimo coming of age.”

He said he hasn’t heard of any negative feedback directed towards council or the City over their support. “I understand there’s some out there, you hear the odd comment, but the fact thousands of people showed up to the event last year told me there were far more people in this community that wanted to be representative of an inclusive city.”

The parade starts at noon Saturday and runs up Commercial to Front St. There are numerous road closures around the downtown core from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

For a full run down on all of the Pride events, you can visit the society’s website or Facebook page.

-With files from Spencer Sterritt

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi