Hamilton Pride celebrations kick off Saturday, police booth still not welcome

As Pride Hamilton prepares for itsannual celebration on Saturday, it also wants to take stockof where the organization is going and see where itscommunity standson police at Pride.

The annual Pride event, which features aday of live performancesand vendors, will run from11:45 a.m. to 6 p.m in Gage Park.

Once again, Hamilton Pride did not allow police to havea recruitment booth at this year'sevent.

The organizationmade that decision last year,out ofrespect for people in theircommunity, said ex-chair Sean Cullen, who is no longer involved with the board."There's some folks, especially queer folks of colour, that have trauma around uniformed officers," Cullen said, acknowledging that he can no longer speak for the board.

The current Hamilton Pride boardmaintained last year'sdecisionbecause it wasn't able to have a community conversation before the event,saidCameron Kroetsch, secretary treasurer with Pride Hamilton.

"It's more of a timing decision than anything else," said Kroetsch. "We didn't think it was responsible to make that choice in absence of having that discussion with the community."

Several Pride organizations, including Pride Toronto, have asked uniformed police officers not toparticipate in Pride events in recent years, due tothe LGTBQ community's troubledtreatment by police throughout history.

Pride and policeis an issue "that peoplefeel very strongly about," said Kroetsch. "That's why we want to talk about it."

Planning a summer debrief

Kroetschsaid Pride Hamilton plans to debrief with the communitythis summer, to discuss the organization's relationship with policeand "find out where things are now."

The organization also wants to take stockmore generallyand get input on Pride Hamilton's future.

Pride Hamilton incorporated at the end of 2018,Kroetschsays, andis looking to grow.

"We really want to make pride a sustainable thing so it's here forever," he said.

50th anniversary of Stonewall

Saturday'slineup includes15 acts and around 90 vendors, the organization says, as well as an after-party atthe Absinthe Hamilton bar. Carol Pope will headline the day, with a performance at 2:15 p.m.

This year's Pride themeis "Liberation," marking the 50th anniversary of the violent Stonewall riotsinNew York Cityafterpolice raideda gay bar in Greenwich Village.

The "Liberation" theme honours Stonewall's legacy, said Kroetsch, while acknowledgingongoing struggles in the LGTBQcommunity.

"There's still a lot of work to be done," he said.

Last year about 13 protesters showed up at last year's Pride event. If protests return, organizers plan todo the same thing as last year: drown out their message and try to prevent disruption.