First Pride parade in Williams Lake, B.C., launches this weekend

Williams Lake's Pride Society will be hosting their first Pride parade Saturday.

The society has taken part in parades for other events in the past, including last year's stampede, but this is the first time they are having their own event. 

"We're really looking forward to it," said Brittany Cleminson, president of the society.

"I think a lot of people here when they think about pride, you know they think about naked people running down the road and we want to show them, no, what it is, is a family fun event."

Saturday's Pride! in the Puddle festival in the central Interior city will include a parade, vendors, food trucks, bouncy castles, games and live music.

"We really want to show that what pride is, is community. It's not otherness," said Cleminson.

Becoming more progressive

Cleminson, who moved to the city of 11,000 from Ottawa last year, said she was a bit "shocked by the attitudes that were pretty prevalent in the area towards the LGBT community."

When the two-year-old Williams Lake Pride Society installed a rainbow crosswalk last summer, many people were supportive, but not everyone, she told Daybreak Kamloops' Jenifer Norwell. 

"Some of the feedback that we got was overwhelmingly negative. And to me it really shows that there was so much work that still had to be done here in Williams Lake."

City council's unanimous vote earlier this summer in support of the Pride festival sends a strong message to the community, she added.

"Ultimately, festivals like this is as they continue, they'll bring tourism into Williams Lake. They'll generate revenue, and they're really just going to make Williams Lake a more appealing and progressive place for people to either live or visit."

'Helpful for everybody'

Sean Sheridan, a local transgender teen, thinks having a Pride parade is a "huge step" in the community.

Being in a smaller city can be difficult because there are limited resources for LGBT youth, said the 15-year-old.

"I think it's really going to be really helpful for everybody in the community who thinks that there's nowhere to go, or that it's not a safe place," said Sheridan, who is a member of the Pride Society.

In the past, he has also heard some people in the community make  "overtly negative" comments about the pride crosswalk that was installed. The crosswalk also got vandalized a few times, and group members had to go and clean it up, he said.

"I think it is important to show people that this is a real thing that's going on and that we're here and we're not just something to put on the back burner," said Sheridan.

"We're trying to show that 'Hey, we're important. We're not threatening you in any way, but we just want to let you know that we're here.'"