Alt Pride Fest in Victoria aims to be more inclusive

As Pride Week festivities in Victoria come to a close this weekend, some members in the LGBTQ community are celebrating by organizing what they say is a more inclusive event than the annual Pride Parade put on by the Victoria Pride Society.

Alt Pride Fest, which takes place on Saturday, is an opportunity for people who don't identify with so-called mainstream Pride celebrations, said Daphne Sahed.

Sahed, an intersex trans woman who is involved with Alt Pride, says many in the transgender community face disproportionate amounts of violence and discrimination, as well as job barriers.

"And then we go to events that are heavily commodified and commercialized like Pride, where everything is for sale, but there's very few kind of activities to do that are at no cost or on a sliding scale or for free," she told All Points West.

"So it's difficult to participate in that kind of environment where you're expected to kind of have money and have means to be able to go down and have fun and stuff like that."

To be more inclusive, Alt Pride, which is now in its third year, offers activities that are free or charge based on a sliding scale, said Sahed. The activities include sign making, a march, a clothing swap and food.

Alt Pride takes place on Saturday. The annual Pride Parade put on by the Victoria Pride Society takes place on Sunday.  

Listen to the full intervew: Alt Pride kicks off