Rainbow Pride Is Coming To Cranbrook
By Contributor
Cranbrook Pride is planning to celebrate the diversity of the rainbow community in Cranbrook on Victoria Day long weekend.
In anticipation, organizers and volunteers have begun putting together a weekend of fun activities and entertainment for the Saturday, May 17 event.
The organizers of Cranbrook Pride, have put together an afternoon, paid BBQ (provided by M&M Meat Shops) for youth and adults in Viking Park, with workshops and activities to take part in, music for entertainment, and invited local dignitaries to give speeches, including Mayor and Council, Ktunaxa elders, and the Central Kootenay MP and MLA.
In the early evening there’ll be an all-ages dance held at the Roadhouse Cafe, with music provided and food service available followed by entertainment at Dewey’s Pub & Grill, including a drag show performance, folk music and a live band.
Cranbrook Pride was conceptualized between the four forming members: Kori Lancaster, Steven Lancaster, Megan Madison, and Fran Burgon.
The goal of the weekend is to showcase Cranbrook’s rainbow community; build strong relationships among peers and allies, create opportunities to network, and demonstrate that Cranbrook is a warm, welcoming place, capable of supporting all members of the rainbow community with compassion, respect, and empathy.
Given the most recent census data for Cranbrook, that would mean approximately 570 youth and 1,666 adults identify as either lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered.
Members of the rainbow community feel that these estimates are grossly underwhelming and a percentage between 18% and as high as 25% could identify anywhere in the spectrum outside of heteronormativity.
