It’s Pride Week in Saskatoon!  A time for rainbow flags and parties!  Well, that’s what it should be.  Unfortunately, I was reminded the other day of why this event is still so relevant.  Sure it’s getting a little boring to hear who likes who and to celebrate the fact that you can label yourself however you want.  But as our mayor keeps demonstrating, there’s still more controversy than there should be about gay rights.  There’s still more hate than there should be.  That’s why I choose to go to Pride Week events.  Who you love shouldn’t be an issue.  We should all be able to enjoy the rainbows and parties without worrying about the hate it might attract from people who simply can’t mind their own business.  What defines a person is not what sex they’re attracted to.  I’m more interested in whether or not they have kindness and compassion in their hearts.  And whether or not they talk in a movie theater!

Okay, I went off in a bit of a tangent there, but in my defense, my first Pride event this year was marred by exactly this type of horrible person.  The Roxy – my favorite theater! – held a free screening of the awesome movie ‘To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar’.  Let me repeat: it doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, or have a kinky laundry fetish, if you talk through a movie, you’re going to that special hell!  It is unacceptable to sit in a theater having a conversation when other people are trying to watch.  It’s good manners and really, if your conversation is that important, you’re better off having it in a coffee shop anyway.

So, moving on, I headed downtown on Friday to check out the Two Spirit and Aboriginal night that was planned.  Native Americans have such a wonderful sense of community so I was curious to see what was going on.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay long but here are a few pictures I took of the opening.

The main event is, of course, the parade.  Despite the cool, windy weather, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  The energy truly was wonderful!  Not too much swag was given out this year though, but we’ll see next year.  Anyway, I had a difficult time choosing pictures to show everyone.  I tried focusing a little more on people (and their pets) this time since it’s hard not to want to capture the joy that everyone was feeling today.

Edit: This entry was posted before the events in Orlando.  My thoughts are with the victims and their families.