Celebrating 25 Years of Pride
Deanna Kerkvliet, Pride Central Coordinator
A look back at 2019 highlights and exciting events coming in 2020
Twenty-five years ago, in 1995, Pride Central officially became a LUSU centre. However, Pride Central isn’t the only organization celebrating an exciting anniversary; Thunder Pride is soon to be a 10-year old organization! Over those years we’ve experienced both challenges and successes in advocating and providing support for the LGBTQ2S+ community on campus and in the wider Thunder Bay community.
Despite the challenges we have experienced this year due to the cuts resulting from the Student Choice Initiative, we, as a community, have come together to create a stronger community. We could not be successful without the support of our many community partners and volunteers. This year, we hope the LU community will join us as we celebrate both Pride Central’s and Thunder Pride’s anniversaries!
A few highlights from 2019 include:
In early 2019, it was announced that Thunder Pride would be hosting the 2020 Fierte Canada Pride Conference in Thunder Bay. This is an exciting opportunity for Thunder Pride to bring awareness to the experiences of the LGBTQ2S+ populations in Northwestern Ontario.
In March 2019, Pride Central celebrated Pride in the North, ending with Queer Prom at the Outpost Campus Pub. We finished off the year with an incredibly successful Transgender Day of Visibility event to showcase the many voices of transgender, non-binary, and two spirit folks.
Though Pride Central is closed in the summer, Thunder Pride has been hosting Pride celebrations in the month of June since 2011. In June 2019, Thunder Pride held various events, including the annual Pride Parade; for the first year, the parade went through the downtown core on Algoma Street and ended in a very successful two-day Block Party. Thunder Pride later announced the very exciting project of getting rainbow and trans flag crosswalks in the city. Thunder Pride has since been successful in raising the necessary funds for this project.
With the re-opening of Pride Central for the new school year, we were happy to host various events to welcome all new and returning students to LU. While Transgender Day of Remembrance is a sombre and heavy event, we we able to remember the many lives that have been lost to the disproportionate violence experienced by the transgender community. We were also able to announce the success of our two fundraising initiatives which aim to support transgender and non-binary individuals who require gender-affirming surgeries or name changes for legal documents.
Though we still have more work to do, we are looking forward to continuing our efforts this new year with various partnerships and upcoming events, including:
Pride Central/Thunder Pride/LU Athletics Pride Nights:
Friday January 31, 2020, 7:30 PM - Men’s Hockey @ Fort William Gardens
Friday February 14, 2020, 6:00 PM - Women’s Basketball @ CJ Sanders Fieldhouse
Friday February 14, 2020, 8:00 PM - Men’s Basketball @ CJ Sanders Fieldhouse
Saturday February 15, 2020, 2:00 PM - Women’s Volleyball @ CJ Sanders Fieldhouse
GSM Symposium, hosted by Pride Central and the Office of Human Rights and Equity:
Friday, February 7, 2020 ~ 10:00am-4:30pm
With this being Pride Central’s 25th anniversary we are striving towards making better connections between the various facets of the Lakehead and Thunder Bay community. In collaboration with LU Athletics and Thunder Pride, we hope to create safer spaces for both players and attendees to be open about their own identities and feel accepted regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
