Halifax Pride organizers pumped for this year's event

Organizers of Halifax Pride are hoping this year's celebration will be the biggestevent yet, and they're bringing in a well-known name to help.

Stuart Milk, the nephew of Harvey Milk, will be the special guest leading the annual vigil. Milk has carried on his uncle's work as ahuman rights activist.

"He's created quite a name for himself righting for LGBTQ rights around the world," said Willem Blois, chair of Halifax Pride. "We're excited to see what he'll bring as an outside perspective into our festival."

Blois also announced that local activistKateShewanis the grand marshall for theparade this year.

Shewan says she was surprised when she was picked for the job.

"It's great that they've selected somebody who's an activist and an advocate for the community," she said. Shewan is the executive director of the Youth Project, an organization that helps young people with issues around sexual orientation and gender identity.

She plans to spend the festival educating people about the struggles many children and teens face, including harassment and bullying.

"I think that allows us to spotlight that there's still a lot more work to be done, so this isn't just a celebration of the community and how far we've come, but it's a look at some of the current issues we need to address to move the community forward."

The festival also announced new branding Wednesday morning, unveiling a logo made out of colourful symbols that spell Halifax. Blois says they wanted to create a new image that would last for years.