NWT Pride festival makes changes to welcome younger members

Organizers of this year's NWT Pride event next month in Yellowknife are making changes to be more welcoming to youth, including holding more events that are alcohol-free, in an effort to focus efforts on catering to a growing youth demographic.

Iman Kassam, an event co-ordinator with NWT Pride, says a lot of the organization's members are teenagers.

"We include youth and make sure they are welcome," says Kassam. "We have programming specifically for young people.

"We have a lot of events that we don't serve alcohol at. At the festival itself, half of the festival grounds are for under 19."

According to Kassam, a strong Pride community can help people feel more comfortable about their sexuality earlier in life.

"There are a lot of issues that LGBTQ+ youth face internally," she says. "Through this year's festival, we hope to facilitate some discussion and workshops where youth can start addressing some of the inner challenges in order to celebrate their freedom more so than before."

A community within Pride

The theme for this year's festival, "Free To Be," is about recognizing everyone's right to love and be themselves without judgement. 

Asmara Iverson, 16 attends St. Patrick's High school in Yellowknife. At 14, she came out as bisexual to her friends and family.

In school, says Iverson, there was little support to help students come to terms with their sexuality.

"No one said anything about it," she says. "We didn't learn it in sex ed, we didn't learn it in health class. The only reason I knew about what different stuff was because of the internet."

However, Iverson says she found support — and a community — with NWT Pride  

"I found a lot of Facebook groups. I was very easily directed towards it. It's been a real help, and I'm volunteering with Pride this year," she says.

Recently, the organization hosted a gender-inclusive clothing and skills swap in Yellowknife. Members traded clothes and participated in workshops including drag makeup and binding safety. 

"There was a lot of youth there, which was really refreshing to see," says Iverson.

Work in progress

Iverson says that in order to create a stronger community in Yellowknife and across the Northwest Territories, school boards need to step up and establish a stronger connection with LGBTQ+ teens.

"Having more acceptance from the school board and them being vocal about it... I think a gay-straight alliance would really help, she says. "It would let students know they are accepted within the community in our school."

NWT Pride's flagship festival will run Aug. 7-9 in Yellowknife.