Kenora Pride and Borderland Pride are excited about their Pride marches this year.
Borderland Pride has a big weekend of events coming this Saturday with a parade that starts at Smokey Bear Park in International Falls, Minn., and crosses the border into Fort Frances.
Douglas Judson, the co-chair of the Borderland Pride 2023 Festival and the director of the organization, said the organization is returning to its traditional format after a few years of not being able to cross the border over the pandemic due to restrictions.
“To our knowledge, this is the only pride parade in the world that crosses an international border,” he said. “I think there is something symbolic about recognizing the commonality of people around diversity and inclusion and equity issues, but also building bridges between different communities and different parts of the community as we cross a bridge in our celebration of pride.”
Judson said this year’s festival theme is Pride Awakens.
“That is a very intentional decision. The purpose of that is we want to empower people to be stronger allies, but also to give and instill a sense of confidence in 2SLGBTQIA+ members of the community to self-actualize and feel confident to live their truth and their identity here in our communities in the rainy River District area,” he said.
“It's about ally engagement, but it's also about building that sense of confidence and demonstrating that sense of welcome and inclusion.”
Judson said the rest of the weekend includes Borderland Pride’s big fundraising drag show event on Saturday night.
“This event will be a fundraiser for the Fort Francis Spray Park project,” he said. “Their vision for the project is one that is fully accessible and inclusive for all people of all abilities. We think that is a goal that aligns very closely with what Pride is trying to achieve for the community.”
Judson said they are happy to try and raise a bit of money for that and maybe, “bring some people into the fold of the Pride movement that maybe otherwise might keep their distance.”
The weekend concludes with a Drag Story Time at the Fort Frances Museum on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
Kenora Pride chair Andréa Campbell is excited about her community’s Pride march that will take place in Kenora on June 24.
“We're absolutely thrilled to be off the sidewalk and on main street,” Campbell said. “It's our first time on the road with the road closure.”
She said everyone will gather at the parking lot at City Hall at 11 a.m. and then march down Main Street to the Muse, where there will be a free barbecue and some entertainment.
Campbell said some other Pride affiliated events will take place during the month, including a Pride service at Knox United. More information will be posted as on their Facebook page.
The Rainbow Alliance Dryden also has also listed a month of planned activities on their Facebook page, including an opening ceremony and march on June 24, starting at noon.
