Despite wet and gloomy conditions, thousands of people gathered in Old Strathcona on Saturday to take part in the 2017 Edmonton Pride Parade.
The Edmonton parade began in 1980 with the aim of educating people and creating a spirit of unity by celebrating gender and sexual diversity.
On Saturday, the parade snaked its way through old Strathcona on Whyte Avenue before ending up at its destination, End of Steel Park.
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This year’s Pride Parade Grand Marshal was Edmonton’s “Two-Spirit community,” indigenous people who believe both male and female spirits live inside them.
“We are honoured and deeply humbled to accept the invitation of Grand Marshal for the Pride Parade,” Boyd Whiskeyjack, Two-Spirit co-ordinator with the Edmonton Pride Centre, said in a news release. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our indigenous heritage.
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“Two-Spirit people continue to face discrimination and marginalization from within our own nations and as a result, experience suicide, depression and high-risk behaviours at a higher prevalence.”
The parade is the cornerstone of the Edmonton Pride Festival, which runs from June 8 to June 18 this year.
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Edmonton’s first Pride celebration was held 36 years ago and saw about 75 people take part in a baseball game and have a bonfire, but the event has grown steadily ever since. The event is organized by the Edmonton Pride Festival Society, a non-profit organization that aims to celebrate and unite the LGBTQ+ community within Alberta’s capital.
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