Sudbury Pride

Sudbury Pride (French: Fierté Sudbury) is an annual LGBT pride parade and festival, held in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It was the first Pride event in Northern Ontario, and the only one in the region until the launch of Thunder Bay's Thunder Pride festival in 2010.

Held for the first time in 1997,[1] the event was originally organized by a committee that included sociologist Gary Kinsman. The first parade occurred on July 19, 1997. After the first event it was then held in August of each year until 2007, and has since been held in July.

In 2006, This Magazine cited Sudbury Pride as an event which, because of the city's working class culture, feels "real, dangerous, like Pride's supposed to feel."[2]

Events

Following a raising of the Pride Flag at Tom Davies Square to launch the festival, a week-long series of events is held,[3] including film screenings at the downtown Rainbow Cinema theatre as well as events at Science North, Market Square, Bell Park, the downtown branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library and various bars and restaurants in the city's downtown core, including Zig's, the city's only gay bar.[4] On the final day of the festival, a march takes place through downtown.

In 2014, the event added an annual program of awards to honour local businesses, organizations, and individuals who have been trailblazers in the city's LGBTQ2 community.[5]

The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, although its organizers announced plans to proceed with an online "digital pride festival" called Queerantine.[6]

References
  1. "Gays parade their pride". Sudbury Star, August 11, 2002. p. A1.
  2. "We're here...and here...and here...", This Magazine, May/June 2006.
  3. "Sudbury gay pride week starts July 17". Northern Life, January 14, 2010.
  4. "Pride week geared to all ages". Northern Life, July 16, 2010.
  5. "Sudbury poised to show its pride". Northern Life, July 7, 2014.
  6. "Online 'Queerentine' festival to replace this year's Sudbury Pride Week festival". CBC Northern Ontario, April 15, 2020.
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