‘They can come together’: Pembina Valley Pride bringing festivities to Winkler

Pembina Valley Pride announced it is taking its celebrations to Winkler this summer.

For the first time, Pride festivities will be taking over Winkler this year.

Pembina Valley Pride announced Pride will be coming to Winkler on June 13.

“We cover a wide swath of land, so it’s not just one town that we’re representing. It covers a huge amount of southern Manitoba,” said Pauline Emerson-Froebe, the president of Pembina Valley Pride.

Over the last couple years, Emerson-Froebe said the topic of bringing a Pride event to Winkler has been one of the top requests the organization has received.

She said it’s important to hold Pride events in as many communities as possible so people know that they are represented, even in smaller, more rural areas.

“There are a lot of queer people in the community. There are a lot of allies that are in the community, and we want them to know that they’re not alone, that they can come together, be yourself and share who you are.”

Emerson-Froebe said a rainbow market will be set up, there will be presenters, and they are currently working with different churches to hold a rainbow church service.

Previous events have had a couple hundred people attend, and she expects a similar number to show up, possibly more given the size of Winkler.

As for any possible security concerns that may arise during the event, they are working with Manitoba Pride Alliance, which helps provide security. In the past, Emerson-Froebe said things have gone smoothly.

“Our experience has been that the hurtful voices are the loudest but the fewest. So there are so many people who are supportive or frankly, don’t care one way or the other, and that is far more the majority than the people who might be sitting behind a keyboard or talking a little bit of trash.”

She said there has already been a lot of excitement since the announcement was made.

“We just want people to feel welcome. We don’t want people to leave the Pembina Valley because they are queer. We want them to stay here, know they are welcome, that they are accepted here and we will do whatever we can to help you find a home here.”