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10 Years of Pride and Counting...

The History of Pride events in Guelph

Many major Canadian cities run their own Pride events including Toronto, London,Vancouver, and Kitchener-Waterloo. A number of Guelphites felt Guelph needed its own Pride events because Guelph’s queer community was growing. As a result, a group of people from the queer community came together and planned a picnic for June 14, 2003. The First Pride Picnic took place at Royal City Park across from the Boathouse. The event was sponsored by Guelph Queer Equality and Tri-Pride. The revenue was donated to Out On The Shelf. The Pride picnic happened in 2004 and 2005.

Guelph Pride Picnic 2005.
Photo Credits: Van Waffle.

In 2006, the Guelph Pride Committee decided not to run a picnic. After much brainstorming, they decided to run a dance. The dance was first held at the Rude Native in the Old Quebec Street Mall. The following year, the Holiday Inn donated a room for the Guelph Pride Dance. For the first time, Magic 106.1 came to MC the dance - a tradition which continued for several years. The Guelph Pride dance continues to this day and remains at the Holiday Inn, which continues to graciously donate its space. In 2008, the committee decided to make Guelph Pride more than ‘just a dance’ in order to attract a wider demographic. That year, OOTS’ Pride Patrol ran a Youth Movie Night, the Bookshelf hosted a dinner and a movie event, and a brunch at the Red Brick Café took place the morning after the dance. That year was also the first year of the flag raising, at which Mayor Farbridge spoke and has continued to speak since. In 2009, a sex positivity workshop was added to the week’s events.

In 2010, DJ Dallas hosted an event at the German Canadian Club and advertised it as a pre-pride kickoff event. Also, Guelph Pride offered its first ever symposium titled “A for Awareness” at which Helen Kennedy from EGALE spoke. Guelph Spoken Word also hosted an event and donated their proceeds to Guelph Pride. In 2011, the president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union Local 1917 spoke along with the mayor at the flag raising ceremony.

Guelph Pride Committee 2012 at Guelph Pride Flag Raising Ceremony.

In 2012, attendance was much higher and Guelph Pride ran its first ever Cabaret event in collaboration with Guelph Spoken Word and PaTio, a transgender support group. Guelph Pride also planned its first ever fundraising event in collaboration with the Albion Hotel. As well, the president of CUPE Ontario, Fred Hahn, spoke at the flag raising and showed support. In Winter 2013, to better engage University of Guelph students with Guelph Pride events, the committee decided to run a separate Pride festival called Winter Pride. An open mic night, a social justice workshop, a concert night, and a family skate were planned. Unfortunately, due to the bad snowstorm during Winter Pride, the concert and the workshop were cancelled.

Winter Pride Family Event at Market Square in 2013.
Photo credits: Bethany Curtis

In May 2013, Guelph Pride celebrated its 10th anniversary. For the first, Guelph Pride held an event to engage Guelph’s seniors which was successful and documented by the Guelph Mercury. The Guelph Civic Museum, in collaboration with Guelph Pride, displayed an exhibit profiling Guelph’s queer history. Guelph Pride, as an organization, has grown tremendously and has had many positive effects on the community. Guelph Pride will continue to grow and engage all members of the community as the years progress.