'Where they can just be themselves': Pride events growing in smaller cities, rural areas around Hamilton

The first Pride event in Binbrook, a communityin the southeastern corner of Hamilton's municipal limits, was 12 people gathered around a park bench outside a Tim Hortons.

Cohen Glaw created a Facebook event that year, in 2021, and put the word out about the meetup, says Kasha Czech, a drag performerwho grew up in the community in the pre-Pride era and is now one of its co-ordinators.

"About 12 people showed up," she said. "It was just a small little get together."

That was only three years ago, but now the suburban area's Pride celebration has blossomed intoa day-long festival at the Binbrook Fairgrounds, with this year's incarnation running this Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. It will include music, vendors, comedy and food, and a drag show that Czech is co-hosting.

She said the rapid growth of the event shows how much demand there was in the community for a way to celebrate Pride at home, but also reflects the population growth in Binbrook, which has seen an influx of new residents.

Following a year where drag storytimes and other drag events were widely targeted across the country, Czechsaidit warms her heart to know she will be celebrating the iconic queer performance style in the community where she grew up.

"The times we are in now, having drag events in small communities has become a little bit of a challenge because there is so much misinformation online about what drag is," she said. "It is a queer art form. We can make it family-friendly."

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1st Pride heldin Norfolk County

Recalling her youth in Binbrook, Czech notedthat without public transportation connecting the communityto the rest of Hamilton, it can be isolating for queer people unable to access Pride celebrations in larger centres.

That motivation, to bring Pride to the people where they are, is a driver for her and her team at Binbrook Pride, much as it is for Jason Dale, co-chair of Pride Haldimand-Norfolk.

The organization held its annual Pride celebrations at Powell Park, on the main street of Port Dover, last weekend, the first time doing so in Norfolk County and likewise in a central location.

"This is in the centre of town," he said, noting previous years' events had been held largely off the beaten track and exclusively in Haldimand County. "We had walk-in traffic."

Dale noted new residents to the rural area have helped change the tone towards people in 2SLGBTQ+ communities, but also believes it's simply a function of society evolving.

"When they first started [Pride Haldimand-Norfolk], the lawn signs were often stolen or damaged," saidDale, who grew up in the area and moved away, later moving back with his husband and adopting children. "This year, there was not one incident."

He saidthere's still some online hate targeted at queer groups in the area, and "every so often, someone does a burnout on the rainbow crosswalk." As a result, he said, itwas important to his organization to work with police on the event a controversial topic among queer communities, especially when it comes to Pride events.

The Haldimand-Norfolk group worked with the Ontario Provincial Police's community policing team, which attended the event in plain clothes, something Dale feels wasa compromise.

"I understand there are complaints with how policing has been done by uniformed officers, especially that one in Hamiltonthat descended into chaos," he said, referring to the 2019 eventafterwhich an independent reportfound thatpolice "failed to protect" festival attendees whenanti-Pride protesters beganattacking those celebrating.

"[The OPP presence]gave me and our committee reassurance," Dale said.

'It can be isolating'

Halton Region, a population of 548,435 nearly the size of Hamilton saw its first Pride festival last year in Milton. This year, organizers have moved festivities to Hidden Valley Park in Burlington, Ont.,where Halton Pride Fest 2024 takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We get a lot of teenagers that come," says Leanne Rancourt, a parent support lead with PFLAG Halton, an advocacy group for queer people and their families. "It's so good to see them in a space where they can just be themselves."

"Sometimes it can be isolating for youth when you think you're the only one," added Rancourt, a parent to queer children who works on the event with her husband.

"They shouldn't have to go to Toronto or Hamilton, to the bigger centres."

Even in Hamilton, where Pride Hamilton will host its main event Aug. 10 at Pier 4 Park, smaller community Pride events are also taking place to cater to specific aspects of the queer community.

Queer Halal Time, a local meetup group for 2SLGBTQ+ Muslims, is planning to host its first Pride event on July 20. It is still waiting for a permit for the location, so hasn't released the full details yet, but is currently raising money to help pay for the event, which will be a picnic in a park.

"Queer Muslims and allies are boycotting Pride Toronto because they haven't taken a stance against the genocide [in Gaza]," said one of the organizers,Jihan "JJ" Hussein. "But we still want to celebrate Pride."

She says the local community of queer Muslims is thriving since regular meetups began near the start of the year.

"It took off pretty quickly. These spaces were lacking," Hussein said. "Right now, Hamilton is the coolest place to be if you're queer."

Pride events in the region

• Halton Pride Fest 2024: Saturday, June 1 at Hidden Valley Park, from 10 a.m to 5 p.m.
  
• Niagara Region Pride Week, June 1 to June 9, with numerous events in the area.
  
• Binbrook Pride, Sunday, June 2, Binbrook Fairgrounds, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  
• Brantford Pride, Saturday, June 15, Mohawk Park, 12 - 5 p.m.
  
• Drag trivia Pride eventin Hamilton, a fundraiser for Tri City Roller Derby, atDoors taco joint and metal bar, June 23, 7 p.m.
  
• Queer Halal Pride, Saturday, July 20. Location and details will be posted on social media.
  
• Pride Hamilton, Saturday, Aug. 10, Pier 4 Park.