After careful consideration and consultation with community partners, sponsors, and stakeholders, this necessary decision was made to limit the impact of COVID-19 and ensure the health and safety of our communities and the general public.
“For many people, Pride is more than “another summer festival”. Pride was born out of protest and continues to be an essential movement today. It’s the one opportunity each year where folks can come together and feel connected, feel loved, and know that they’re not alone,” said Dan Shier, Co-Chair of Regina Pride. “We acknowledge that postponing our festival will leave folks feeling isolated, especially right now when everyone is practicing physical distancing and staying home. We want our communities to know that these decisions are necessary for everyone’s safety and well-being. We know that Pride is important and we will continue to plan for a Pride Festival to happen in the fall. Now, more than ever, we need to be loud and proud and support each other.”
To date, over 250 Pride celebrations around the world have either postponed their events or cancelled their 2020 celebrations.
Many local and regional organizations that serve our Gender and Sexually Diverse (GSD) communities are now offering new and existing programming online and are encouraging people to check them out. The UR Pride Centre has started a COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support members of our communities impacted financially by the pandemic, Moose Jaw Pride is offering assistance to folks in Saskatchewan needing help with applying for EI, filing taxes, or accessing emergency response benefits.
Regina Pride, a member of Fierté Canada Pride (the national association of Pride organizations), is also looking at participating in “Global Pride 2020” (http://interpride.org/). This is a 24-hour virtual Pride event which will take place on Saturday, June 27, in an effort to ensure Pride can be celebrated by everyone around the world. Regina Pride is looking at adding local programming to this international event with more details soon to come.
Regina Pride is grateful to the people working at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and to their volunteers, partners, and community members who are supporting them and each other right now. Communities have been affected in numerous ways by COVID-19 and everyone must work together and support each other and most of all, be kind.
- Media Release, Dan Shier - Regina Pride.
