Smithers Pride is changing their annual Pride parade into a virtual event this year.
Vice President Sophie Perodeau said they have created a space online for local community members and others to congregate and celebrate diversity and inclusion.
Read more: Pride grows in Smithers
“We had already arranged to have our hosts, Patrick Masse and Berlin M Stiller to come up to host Pride this year and we got together and said ‘How can we continue to support our community?’ and we put it out there on Facebook and everyone said ‘Please don’t cancel Pride’ and we said Pride can’t be cancelled so here we are doing it live on Facebook,” she said.
The live stream will start on Saturday, May 30 at 2 p.m.
Canadian west coast recording artist and songwriter Patrick Masse and celebrity Drag Queen Berlin M Stiller will host and perform. As well, other local musicians and artists will perform. The Smithers Public Library will host a Pride Story Time and Kayla Rose will host a Pride Craft for children to follow along with. There will also be a live educational panel discussion where the public can engage virtually in meaningful conversation with a panel of 2SLGBTQ+ advocates and educators.
“It has been become abundantly clear through this pandemic that it is super important that people stay connected and feel supported,” Perodeau added. “The isolation is hard on everyone and it is important to send a message to the community that Pride can’t be cancelled and should be celebrated everyday.”
The event can be found on Facebook on the event’s page called Smithers Unstoppable Pride 2020.
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