Edmonton Pride Festival theme for 2019 gives nod to historic revolutionary event for LGBTQ community

The Edmonton Pride Festival has announced the theme for its 2019 events, and “Building Bridges from Stonewalls” pays homage to the Stonewall riots in New York City to mark the 50^th anniversary of the demonstrations.

The 1969 protests followed a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Lower Manhattan.

“The theme came about with the idea of the Stonewall riots being the widely-regarded beginning of the modern gay rights movement for our community,” said Clayton Hitchcock, co-chair of the board of directors for the Edmonton Pride Festival Society (EPFS).

“It was somewhat of a play on words with the name of the Stonewall Inn and taking the walls of those who stand against the community, and using those very same stones to build the bridges we have today and the ones we still have to build,” he said.

Watch below: (From July 2016) The Stonewall riots in 1969 were a turning point in the gay rights movement in the United States. Martin Boyce is a Stonewall veteran and shares the impact of the protest on the Pride movement.

5:09 Legacy of New York’s Stonewall riots on the LGBTQ movement

Noting duality in the theme’s name with regard to prominent words in our society, Hitchcock added that “walls and bridges are a hot topic in today’s world.”

The EPFS announced the theme (“Building Bridges from Stonewalls”) last week on social media. The organization draws similarities between the Stonewall riots to an event that occurred in Edmonton.

The EPFS’ tweet, including this year’s festival theme announcement, noted that “as the Pride movement took shape in our own city, the Pisces Bathhouse Raid in 1981 became Edmonton’s own Stonewall, causing Edmontonians to take a stand against the mistreatment of our community.”

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The theme was chosen through an online public vote and there were three options. The other two suggested themes were “Be You To Full” and “Make Change Mâmawikamâtotân Avec Fierté.”

Hitchcock said he thinks “Building Bridges from Stonewalls” was chosen due to the anniversary of the movement coupled with its importance to the community.

“Stonewall is something that is very known in our community, so I think it being the 50^th anniversary made a lot of people pay attention to it,” he said.

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“It resonated with a lot of people in our community with where we’re at right now — taking a moment to recognize the works of the past, the present and where we want to go in the future.”

The theme will be open for interpretation during the festival’s 10-day takeover of Strathcona Park at the edge of Steel Park, and it’s up to organizers of each event to showcase the theme how they’d like.

“We’re hoping to see some ingenious ideas around that,” Hitchcock said.

Despite the Pride Festival being six months out, planning is well underway and it has been for a while.

“We never really stop,” Hitchcock said. “As soon as one is finished, we start on the next one.”

READ MORE: Edmonton Pride Parade continues after being stopped by demonstrators

Watch below: (From June 2018) Old Strathcona was packed Saturday as the 2018 Edmonton Pride Parade wound its way colourful crowds. Albert Delitala was there.

2:05 Demonstration briefly stalls Edmonton Pride Parade

With the announcement of this year’s theme, the EPFS uses January as a stepping-off point to begin engaging the public. Application forms for volunteers, parade entries, sponsors and vendors are also released at the start of the new year.

Last year, the organization announced the festival’s main events were moving closer to the ATB Financial Arts Barns, where the Edmonton International Fringe Festival takes place, however, the festival will be staying where it usually is afterall.

“That’s been pushed back a year due to some construction and other logistics with the city,” Hitchcock said.

This year, Pride in the Park  — which usually occurs after the Pride Parade — will be spread out over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, instead of just the Saturday the parade falls on.

The 2019 edition of Pride will also focus on Indigenous Pride, as the space for that will be bigger. The event will also feature an alcohol-free space.

“Particularly, it will be a sober space for people who perhaps are averted by the party aspect of pride,” Hitchcock said.

“The festival is more than the parade,” he said.

“Over the 10 days, there’s a multitude of events that go on, and a lot of really great organizations that put on these events.

“Every year we strive to create more awareness around that.”

Each year, the Edmonton Pride Festival continues to gain more attendees and participants.

“Last year, we were really lucky,” Hitchock said. “We had the ability to increase our parade. We used to have around 100 entries, and last year we went up to 120 — it should be around the same this year.

“Our hope is that it will always grow.”

This year’s Edmonton Pride Festival runs from June 7 to June 19.