This weekend officially kicks off this year's Capital Pride Festival, where we celebrate all the colours of the rainbow. This event is the perfect opportunity for the LGBTQ community and its allies and friends to come together and celebrate our diversity.
This year’s festival has something for everyone! In addition, many of the events organized are free of charge! What’s better than that? There’s no excuse to stay home. Get out there and go celebrate!
Here are a few ideas of some free events you can check out during the 10-day festival:
Workshops & Discussion Groups
Our friendly neighbourhood sex shop is offering a free workshop on August 19th. Venus Envy is presenting "Sex Toys for Queers", a workshop for anyone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, or any or all of the above. Venus Envy is located at 320 Lisgar St.
Pink Triangle Services (PTS) is hosting their bi-weekly “Biamore” discussion group. The bi-weekly drop-in group aims to create a comfortable space to gather and talk about issues related to being bisexual, pansexual, bi-curious and questioning. The group will discuss the visibility of bisexuality within the queer community. PTS is located at 331 Cooper Street, Suite 200.
The Great Outdoors
On August 19th, head out to Hintonburg Park for Capital Pride's Annual Picnic in the Park for LGBT+ families and friends. This event is in partnership with the Ten Oaks Project, a volunteer organization that engages and connects children and youth from LGBTQ communities. Learn more about the Ten Oaks Project here.
Take me out to the ball game! On August 24th, the Dykes take on the Divas in a family-friendly softball game. The action takes place at Riverain Park starting at 2pm. Don't know much about softball? Doesn't matter! This is a great way to spend some time in the sunshine and cheer on the athletes.
Focus on Youth
Capital Pride will feature many events targeted to youth, and they are all free! These events include an Open Mic Night and a Cabaret Prom Night, among others. For more information on the youth events, contact youth@capitalpride.ca.
Marching Together
Of course, we can't forget the parade! No Pride festival would be complete without it. On August 25th, head downtown with your friends and family members to check out this year’s parade. At 1pm, the parade will leave the corner of Bank and Gladstone and march its way to City Hall. After the parade, there will be tons of great programming taking place on the main stage at Marion Dewar Plaza. The programming includes drag shows, burlesque performances and a performance by musical act the Cliks.
Safe to say, there are tons of free events to choose from during this year's Capital Pride. Although not all the Pride events are free, they are still worth checking out. The festival will host many events in collaboration with community organizations that work with Ottawa's LGBTQ community. Be sure to check out some of these events and find out more about what these organizations are doing for our community.
What Capital Pride events are you looking forward to?
2013 Capital Pride Festival
August 16-25, 2013
Various locations
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