City's 14th annual Pride Parade and festival is this weekend

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s 14th annual Pride Parade and Festival is coming to Fort William.

On Saturday, July 5, the parade will start at 11 a.m. at Miles Street near the courthouse, and it will end at the Friendship Gardens on Victoria Avenue.

It's the second year the parade is back, after a four-year post-covid hiatus, and it's the first year the event is being held in the south end. 

“If you'd like to take in part of the parade, you could either line up and be spectators along Victoria Avenue. Just be aware of the small road closure around Victoriaville Mall. Archibald is currently closed off. So down Miles Street along the Elks and the Gardens or going up McKellar, and then all of Victoria Avenue. Spectators are totally welcome. Just watch out for people's driveways and roads and stuff like that,” said Scotia Kauppi, chair of Thunder Pride Association.

For those wanting to participate in the parade, walkers are to meet at Patterson Park around the fountain, she said.

For anyone looking to get more involved, there is a chance to help out as well.

On Sunday, Thunder Pride issued an urgent call for volunteers on social media. Although Kauppi told Newswatch they have “many volunteers.”

“I know the day of lots of people always show up and ask if they can help out, which is wonderful. Especially in the mornings and for the festival, and the pack up in the late afternoon or evening for the festival. It's always nice to have maybe a couple of extra helping hands, asking vendors if they need any help packing up. It's pretty, it's a pretty long day. It always feels so rushed, so it's nice to help out people if you can,” Kauppi said.

She said the festival will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and there will be a variety of crafts and games for kids, live music and entertainment.

Traditionally, the annual pride parade and festival are held on the north side of the city, but Kauppi said there is “no good staging area” for the event due to the amount of construction in downtown Port Arthur.  

“Also, the Fort William side needs some love too. There's a queer community in Fort William. One of the first gay bars was on Ogden, around the Simpson Street area. We have a rainbow crosswalk down here too,” Kauppi said.

She also noted that the Friendship Gardens symbolizes this year's pride theme, All in for Love: Global Pride, Infinite Friendship.

“Just having that connection to how many newcomers and immigrants and students and refugees that we have in Thunder Bay that want to feel community and feel their heritage at the same time. It's just a beautiful park to use,” Kauppi said.

“Plus, there are lots of ducks and it's really cute and we have the conservatory and the Lakehead Conservation and the Parks Canada to help everyone learn about ducks and the pollinator gardens. So it's a beautiful spot to have a parade and a festival.”