THUNDER BAY -- Donna Nagy wants to tell everybody that it's OK to be who they are.
"I'm respecting you, you're respecting me," she said. "There's no fear."
She is this year's co-chair for Thunder Pride and was part of the pride flag raising ceremony at City Hall Tuesday. The ceremony officially designated next week, from June 8 to June 15, as the city's fourth annual pride week.
This year's events will centre around transgender rights, which have yet to be added to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The event is one that continues to grow, said Councillor Rebecca Johnson.
"I mean, if you think of what goes on in Toronto, it's huge, it's a huge activity," she said. "Thunder Bay's [Pride Week] is not big to that extent, but certainly we're going to grow."
Nagy said last year's Pride Parade had more than 100 people participating, and this year's number is expected to be larger. The 2014 parade is scheduled for June 14.
"This year we actually have floats, we have groups coming from out of the province," she said.
"I believe there's one even coming from the States."
Coun. Johnson says Thunder Bay is able to acknowledge that there are a variety of genders and sexual orientations.
"We're finally at the point where it's accepted in Thunder Bay, and it's an exciting time to have a week to set aside," she said.
Along with the Pride Parade and Pride in the Park, this year's Pride events include a literary evening, a film night, a drag show, and a DJ dance party.
Full event listing and details can be found on the Thunder Pride website.
