Sunday saw the return of the 36th annual Calgary Pride Parade, as thousands of Calgarians lined Ninth Avenue downtown on a damp Sunday in celebration of Pride. “We’re here to be loud and we’re here to be proud. But we’re also here to say we’re not going anywhere. We’re here and we’re queer, right?” said Calgary Pride co-chair Riley Sogge. “It’s great to be out here to see so many people celebrating queerness, especially with the way the world is now. It’s great to have a space where people can just express queer joy and see so many people coming together just to have a great day,” said Holtasoli with drag show They Got Talent. Sogge said there were 170 entrants in this year’s parade. “We have the largest group we’ve ever had of staff, volunteers, friends and family joining us to walk in the parade and celebrate the importance of Pride and the importance of everyone belonging at the library and in our community,” said Calgary Public Library CEO Sarah Meilleur. “There’s over 100 people that are walking with us here today. We’ve been walking in the parade for a number of years, and it just gets bigger and bigger every year,” Meilleur added. The Calgary Public Library was one of several entrants to boast more than 100 walkers, but on the smaller side was Silvera for Seniors. Despite a relatively small amount of walkers, their presence was still large, with one Silvera for Seniors resident saying being visible is an incredibly important aspect of the parade. “It’s a good way to spread the word that it isn’t just for young people. The community is worldwide and age independent, so this way everybody gets to see how we all participate,” said Silvera for Seniors resident Jericho Phoenix. “This is my fourth year, and I also walked in Edmonton, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Phoenix added. Celebration and symbolic day too The parade is a day of celebration and fun for the LGBTQ community, but some participants also said it’s an important symbolic day too, with some pointing to Alberta Government policies that impact transgender people. With that in mind, some say it’s more important than ever to continue celebrating publicly through things like the parade. “I am a transgender high school teacher, so with the influx of anti-trans bills coming up in the school system specifically, I found it very difficult to be myself out in public, and I found it increasingly hostile. The fact that I can just be here and be myself and be open and proud, it’s a breath of fresh air from something that’s been very difficult to go through in these last couple of years,” Sogge said. “It’s very distressing to see the rights that we’ve worked so hard in these last few decades start to backslide,” Sogge continued. “It’s really important that we still have spaces like this for queer joy, because there’s so much right now. When you hear about queer people and trans people, there’s so much negative in the media and so much negative coming from governments and institutions, that having a space where we can just be joyful and be together and celebrate our identities in our community is huge. It makes us all kind of able to make it through those tough times,” Holtasoli added. Increasing inclusivity Some organizations participating add they hope their presence helps increase inclusivity and the pride community feeling welcome wherever they go. “I think it is important that businesses show up and celebrate inclusion in the workplace. Studies have shown a more diverse and inclusive work environment provide better work products, no matter what industry you are in,” said Lucy L’hirondelle with Norton Rose Fulbright. “Norton Rose Fulbright was the first law firm ever to participate in the parade back in 2015, and we are very proud to continue that tradition and be here and support inclusion and love and just happiness all around,” L’hirondelle continued. Flames join parade Another organization that joined the parade was The Calgary Flames, who were represented by Zach Whitecloud, Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee. “Since I got to Calgary, finding out about the (Pride Parade) initiative here, and how the team consistently does this every year, is awesome,” said Farabee. “I’m really excited to be a part of it and I know these guys with me are too, and like you said, doing it in the rain and still seeing how much the community comes out to support is just awesome.” The Pride Parade capped off Calgary Pride’s Pride Week celebrations, which took place from August 31 to September 6.
