It’s Pride Week in Nelson, and the Nelson Pride Board has planned several events to celebrate.
The Nelson Pride Board was incorporated as a non-profit society in 2023, with this year’s Pride week to be the first celebration organized by the board as a society.
Pride week kicked off on Sunday, August 25 with a Pride BBQ at the Rotary Shelter. Then, on Monday, a flag-raising ceremony was held in front of Nelson City Hall. The event ends on September 2.
Board member Michael Wick said he and his colleagues have been working hard to ensure the event is fun and inclusive for the entire community.
Several new events have been added to this year’s Pride schedule, all of which can be found on the Nelson Pride Society’s website. However, Wick said the annual Pride parade on Sunday should not be missed.
“The big event is the parade because everybody can be involved, and it’s such a celebration. People involve themselves in many ways—whether as participants, cheering people on, or enjoying the party afterwards, which will be a lot of fun at the Cottonwood Market area.”
This year, the Pride parade will be longer than in the past. It starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday and will make its way down Stanley and Victoria Street, over to Josephine, before looping around Vernon past the Adventure Hotel, and up towards the Kootenay Co-op before proceeding down Baker Street.
Following the parade, there will be a park party at Cottonwood Falls Park with live music and dancing.
Wick said Pride Week celebrates the contributions of Nelson’s LGBTQ+ community and honours the support of their allies.
“It’s a community event that brings everybody together and allows those who are not part of the mainstream population, like our demographic, to get out and celebrate—because in many places, they can’t. They can’t even be themselves in most of the world, and in Canada, we celebrate that diversity and freedom.”
The Nelson Pride Board is seeking volunteer marshals to help with the parade on Sunday. Interested individuals can sign up to help here.
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