Edmonton Pride Festival 2017 - #YEGPride
Edmonton Pride Festival has always been my favorite festival of the year. As a Gay Man myself it truly warms my heart to see the Community come together so beautifully to celebrate how far the LGBTQ2 community have come from the days where Pride was strictly a protest.
In our politically charged times, many pride parades across the board have reverted back to a protest, especially in the United States. While I believe in the importance of acknowledging the back slides, and how far we still need to go, i also believe it is still just as important to celebrate who we are. It’s important for everyone to live their truth, to celebrate who they are, to not let the back slides break our spirits. There are a lot of things going on that are bringing people down, and celebrating Pride in ourselves is a perfect way to give everyone some much needed hope, so that we don’t feel as helpless as the World is often capable of making us feel. With that said, YEGPride, definitely did that for me, and it did that for a lot of people.The Parade has only gotten bigger and better over the years, the weather was a bit chilly this year, but it didn’t stop Edmonton showing up in spades to enjoy the festivities. So many floats, and so many colors! From Political faces, to small businesses, banks and churches, radio stations, and more. “One Pride. Many Voices” was the theme of this years Pride Festival, and they nailed it completely.
End Of Steel Park, was the home of the after party and I spent the majority of the time in the beverage garden half of the park, getting quite...lit, as they say, and mostly to keep warm because it was so cold! But if i’m being completely honest, initially when my friends and I got there it was a slow start for the entertainment, in previous years I had attended the “all ages” area, due to the long lines of the gardens, and from the outside it always seemed like a blast, so i was determined to get in there, and when i did, i was a little let down at first, but the band that really got the party going for me and for the rest of the crowd was “KLUSTERFUNK” a local, ridiculously talented band of brass musicians who bring funk and punk together in a brilliant way! They salvaged the event and made the 10 dollar admission completely worth it and more! You gained, at least three new fans in the form of my friends and myself. I didn’t even want to stay any longer, because their set was so perfect!
I made my way back home to meet up with my best friend and get ready for Pure Pride! A huge event during Pride Weekend that I have been going to every year since 2011, and this was the first time i was a bit disappointed. Set in the Starlite Room, Pure Pride usually has three floors. The main stage area, the lounge on an upper level which is more of a lounge area with an extra bar, and tables to sit and rest at, and the basement floor with more DJ’s and entertainment, with another bar, but it appeared to be just the mainstage, and the upper level. The good news is that i always manage to have fun wherever i go with my best friend, and so i still had a blast, from what i can remember, but sadly, the missing floor, and lack of entertainment is making me have second thoughts on making it my “night out” next year. I truly hope they up their game next year so i can be persuaded to head back another year. But i’m okay with mixing things up a bit for 2018.All in all, i had a wonderful weekend! Good friends, good vibes, good times! And i would highly suggest checking out the Pride Festivities next year if you haven’t done so already!
