Amelia Thorpe, a board member and former president of the Fierté Fredericton Pride, said the festival takes place in August for a variety of reasons, including the availability of volunteers. Thorpe said the “rainbow capitalism” – the commercialization of LGBTQ movements like Pride – is another reason for Pride festivals to spread throughout the year instead of accumulating it all by June. Amelia Thorpe, board member and former president of the Fierté Fredericton Pride, said the Pride festival takes place in August for a variety of reasons, including the availability of volunteers. (Submitted by Amelia Thorpe) “The corporate use of Pride has really created an sometimes exploitative push to drop everything in June, somewhat neatly to maximize photography and marketing opportunities,” Thorpe said. While Thorpe said Pride has to do with celebration and visibility, she said it is also political.

Stonewall Uprisings

June was originally designated Pride Month in the United States to celebrate Stonewall riots. The uprising began in June 1969 after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York’s Greenwich Village.
In Canada, the first gay rights protest took place in August 1971 in Parliament Hill, where protesters submitted a petition to the government demanding equal rights and protection. Thorpe said Pride could not be separated from its roots as a movement against police violence. Fierté Fredericton Pride tries to emphasize the value of these roots in their events all year round, he said. “Remembering and honoring these roots through community building, advocacy and education is central to our mandate,” Thorpe said. A festival visitor at a Saint John Pride event. (Submitted by Michael Cummings) “The Pride event in August showed that it allows us greater accessibility and gave us a longer planning period to ensure that the events meet our mandate.” When the board of the Fierté Fredericton Pride changed in 2019, it was up to the new board to decide whether the Pride festival would continue in August. Thorpe said they looked into the fact that a number of other organizations were vying for their events in June, which made him less attractive. June is also Indigenous History Month, Philippine Heritage Month, Elderly Month, Portuguese Heritage Month and Italian Heritage Month. “By organizing our events throughout the summer, even throughout the year, we do not weaken the choices available to people for learning and community building in June, nor do we undermine the important work of other organizations,” Thorpe said.

Queer Canadian history

Sarah Hubbard, president of Saint John Pride, said the celebrations take place in August not only because of the sometimes rainy weather in June, but also because of Canada’s LGBTQ history. He said Canada’s first Pride Week took place in August 1973 in several cities across Canada, including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Saint John Pride’s Sara Hubbard said that while June was a month of pride in many places, August was historically Canada’s month of pride. (LinkedIn / Sara Hubbard) “It is generally accepted that June was Pride Month,” Hubbard said. “But ήταν August was the pride of Canada [month] historically “. Hubbard said that although many Pride festivals in New Brunswick take place in August, they are starting to move away from holding all the events at once. He said Pride festivals are staggered so people can watch their community events along with festivities in other cities. Saint John Pride wants to ensure that Pride is celebrated all year round and not just for one week. “We don’t just talk about Pride once a year, we talk about it and we do community events that boost pride in our community all year round,” Hubbard said.

Pride Festival 2022

The Moncton area also holds the River of Pride in August. Rebecca Rogers, chairman of the board of the River of Pride, said Moncton Pride usually happens last in the county, so it does not overlap with others – this year from August 19 to 28. The festival’s events may not look like much compared to some years, Rogers said, due to problems arising from COVID-19, such as not receiving sponsors for the festival. “We are doing the best we can with a reduced budget,” Rogers said. “But we will have events every day.” Hubbard said Saint John Pride has new events this year and hopes to work with different communities, even outside of Saint John, for the festival from August 2 to 7. “I think it will be one of the best years.” And if you can not wait until August, the Charlotte County Pride Festival takes place this week, until June 18.