Montreal is preparing to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ2 community with the 13th edition of the Pride festival.
The 11-day festival is divided into three components: community, festive and cultural. Organizers say more than 225 artists and 250 activities will be entertaining festival-goers from Aug. 8 to 18.
Tourism Minister Mélanie Joly, Fierté Montreal Pride president Éric Pineault and other members of the LGBTQ2 community officially launched the event on Monday.
“Eighty per cent of the artists are local artists,” Fierté Montreal Pride vice-president Jean-Sébastien Boudreault said. “But we also got artists from all over the world.”
The festival will officially kick off on Aug. 9 with an opening ceremony under the theme of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Artists Ciara, Margaret Cho, LaDiva Live and Ariane Moffatt are among the festival’s diverse headliners.
“People are starting to understand that we are more than a parade,” Boudreault said.
Most of the Montreal Pride events and shows will take place at the Parc des Faubourgs, located at the corner of De Lorimier Avenue and Ontario Street, near the entrance to Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
Organizers say there will be something for everyone.
“You don’t have to be LGBTQ to come to Montreal Pride, you just have to respect the LGBTQ community and be honest and open about the differences that we all have,” said Boudreault.
The iconic Pride Parade will take place Aug. 18 at 1 p.m. along René-Lévesque Boulevard. It starts at Metcalfe Street and will end on Alexandre-DeSève Street.
The theme of this year’s parade is the colour violet, which organizers say challenges norms and highlights identity nuances, especially because the colour is the result of the blending of pink and blue — colours associated with gender stereotypes.
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