Hiring underway for this summer's P.E.I. Pride Festival

Pride P.E.I. is hiring three people as the organization gears up for this year's Pride Festival.

The three positions are: operations manager, communications co-ordinator and production co-ordinator.

"[This is a] very exciting time for us, because this is the first chance in history that we've had the capacity and had the opportunity to hire some roles to support our festival this summer," said John Kimmel, chair of Pride P.E.I. 

"It's very important for us because it's, I think, a seminal time."

This year's festival is scheduled for July 18 to 25. 

Last year's festival went ahead, but with no parade and many events going virtual.

Positions an opportunity for those in tourism sector

Kimmel said the organization is working with provincial officials on guidance about what events the festival may be able to safely hold this summer under COVID-19 guidelines.

He said the new positions are possible because of funding through the federal government's Canada Summer Jobs program and the province's Rural Jobs Initiative. Pay ranges from about $15 to $20 an hour.

All the positions are temporary, but Kimmel said he'd like to hire more full-time staff in the future.

"Pride continues to consult with and advocate to all levels of government for their support... to help us grow the kinds of work that we do," he said. "A lot of people don't know that Pride P.E.I. does work 52 weeks of the year." 

Kimmel said the jobs would be perfect for those who may have lost work or have had their work reduced in the tourism sector because of COVID-19. 

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