It’s a record turnout at this year’s Pride March and Festival. Thousands of people marched along Kelowna, B.C.’s waterfront in a colourful celebration for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“We are saying that this is the biggest turnout for Kelowna Pride; it just fills my heart,” said Candace Banks, director of volunteerism at the Kelowna Pride Society.
“It was an absolute great turnout; the march didn’t end. You looked out and you just saw a sea of rainbow and a sea of love and it was absolutely beautiful.”
The festival began at Stuart Park at 8:30 a.m. with Pride Yoga, then at 10 a.m. the park became the starting point for the Pride March, where there were speeches as well as performances.
At 11 a.m., the march took off from Stuart Park. It wound around Kelowna’s waterfront, eventually leading the participants to the festival grounds at City Park where there were more than 100 vendors, live music, entertainment, a kids’ zone and food trucks.
Kelowna drag queen performer Freida Whales was one of the people chosen to help lead the parade.
“I remember coming to my first Pride about 10 years ago and there were only about 50 people, so to see over 1,000, 10,000 there’s almost 12,000 people here , it’s pretty eye-watering as well.”
This is not the only record-breaking Pride event this week. Organizers say that every Pride event over the past few days saw a turnout bigger than ever before.