As the City of Regina officially proclaimed Gender and Sexual Diversity Pride Week, Queen City Pride kicked off a week of festivities with a Pride flag-raising ceremony.
The co-chair of QCP said seeing the Pride flag outside city hall gives a sense of pride and hope and shows the city that LGBTQ2 people are part of the community.
“It means it’s one more day that I don’t have to be afraid,” Mirtha Rivera said. “(The Pride flag) tells everyone that we belong here and we’re part of the community and we’re still going to be fighting for our rights.”
Lakeview United Church pastor Carla Blakley and considers herself an ally, an advocate and an accomplice of the “2SLGBTQIA+ community.”
“Pride is a celebration…. The community has come together,” Blakley said. “Pride started as a protest and we still need to protest…. Pride for me is a deeply held belief that every child, every person has the right and deserves the right to be loved, to be heard, to be invited to the table and the right to be respected.”
Daily events will occur in the city, including the QCP Prom at the Lakeview United Church, drag queen bingo, Pride tea social, a family carnival and so much more. The QCP parade will be held on June 15.