'Run with Pride': 11-day Pride London Festival events underway

'Run with Pride' kicks off 11 day festival Allies and members of the LGBTQI+ community got active to kick off London's Pride Festival on Saturday, CTV's Brent Lale was on the ground.

More than 200 people laced up their shoes to ‘Run With Pride’ in London, Ont.

“I always wanted to have an event where everybody could be inclusive and be who they wanted to be and then they could include their families in it,” said Barry Smith, who founded the run in 2017. “The idea in general was let's have fun and let's run.”

Taking place during the Pride London Festival, Smith with the help of his husband has doubled the size of the run since its inception.Over $5,000 was raised for Rainbow Railroad, a Toronto-Based organization which helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety worldwide.

For those taking part, it’s not only helping a good cause, but bringing people together.

“It's great to see, everyone turning up, have some queer visibility in London,” said Nick Lemire, who was doing the 5k with his partner Jake Roberts. “It's a time to come together, to celebrate love and be with your friends. A lot of my allied friends are here to celebrate pride.”

The 11-day-festival runs from July 11 to July 21.

“On Thursday, opening night we had an art show with 45 artists who came out,” said Nick Veal, a member of the Pride London Festival board.

“A lot of people came out to check out the different pieces. We also had awards night that night, many drag queens were there, and people in the community were recognized for outstanding work. Friday there was a London Majors game against Guelph and it was an awesome game with a lot of pride. I’m looking forward to the rest of the events soon.”

Those events all lead into the 30th annual Pride parade, which will start on Queen’s Avenue and go westbound to Victoria Park on Sunday July 21.

Despite recent confrontations at drag story time readings and other Pride activities, Smith believes London is still positive and accepting.

“There’s always going to be haters and the naysayers,” said Smith.

“I was actually at the first Pride London parade where we walked around Victoria Park and there was like 50 people. It’s definitely grown.”