Thousands of Manitobans have gathered in downtown Winnipeg to celebrate the start of Pride Month in Manitoba. The annual Winnipeg Pride Parade made its way down Memorial Boulevard and Portage Avenue before ending at The Forks for the Winnipeg Pride Festival. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Rise in Pride, Stand in Strength’—a call to action to come together and celebrate both resistance and joy. This year’s grand marshals are Sally Papso, an oral historian and youth counsellor; Ivory Neufeld, a Grade 8 student working to make their school a safer place; and Manitoba Moon Voices Inc., an organization that empowers Indigenous women and gender-diverse people. There are more than 160 floats entered in the parade this year. Organizations marching in the parade include the City of Winnipeg, the Manitoba government, and the Southern Chiefs’ Organization. Among them was Marty, decked out in rainbow colouring. “Marty is here to be an ambassador, to bring joy about the day and be here for those people who may be afraid of dogs.” His owner Jacqueline told CTV News.
