A new pride festival planned for this July is intended as a celebration of diversity for the Sarnia-area community, organizers say.
A new pride festival planned for this July is intended as a celebration of diversity for the Sarnia-area community, organizers say.
“We think this is a great way not just for 2SLGBTQ people to connect, but our friends, family and allies to come out together to celebrate diversity in our community,” said Crystal Fach, a spokesperson for the Diversity Ed and Sarnia Pride and Transgender Association-hosted PrideFest.
The festival – slated for July 15 to July 17 – will feature live music and drag queen performances at Centennial Park’s Suncor Agora. Organizers opted to push the new festival past Pride Month in June so it wouldn’t compete with other events already scheduled, Fach said.
“So we could just get to extend pride for another few weeks, which is never a bad thing,” Fach said.
Evening performances featuring Indigenous, Black and racialized performers on the Friday and drag queens in a Lavender Promotions show billed Gagged Vol. 2 on the Saturday are ticketed, Fach said.
Tickets and weekend passes, ranging from $25 to $80, go on sale April 1, Fach said.
“’Gagged’ is just a term we use in the queer and trans community when something is really stunning or amazing,” Fach said. “So it’s like ‘You’re going to be gagged’ is kind of queer or trans ling for ‘it’s going to be amazing.’”
An 11 am Sunday Drag Queen Story Time, sponsored by The Book Keeper, is also planned to help youngsters better understand the 2SLGBTQ community, Fach said.
“We’re just going to sit and read a story and help children understand that there’s beauty in everyone and that gender is not something that we need to push back against,” Fach said.
Some may have parents who are members of the 2SLGBTQ community or are themselves gender-diverse, Fach said.
“Just to help them recognize that we’re here and we’re a part of the community,” Fach said.
An Indigenous burlesque group called Indigibabes is also part of the Friday evening’s entertainment, Fach said.
Other entertainers, vendors and sponsors are being sought, Fach said.
“We’re going to do an open stage on Saturday for anybody who wants to perform,” Fach said.
The festivities kick of at 5 pm Friday and the first night runs until 11 pm, Fach said. Saturday is 11 am to 11 pm while Sunday is 11 am to 6 pm
People may have been isolated in homophobic or transphobic homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Fach said.
“We just wanted to bring a pride festival to Sarnia-Lambton over a weekend where we can bring 2SLGBTQ artists and our community together to celebrate who we are, and just be really visible in the community,” Fach said.
A 2019 Beachside Pride festival was billed as Sarnia’s first pride festival.
There’s no association, Fach noted.
Sarnia city council voted earlier in 2019 to recognize Pride Month in the city for the first time.
More information is available at diversityed.ca/sarnia-lambton-pridefest.
Tickets, as of April 1, are available at lavendertickets.com/tc-events/sarnia-lambton-pridefest.