The Owen Sound Pride Parade is set to go today as one of the many events happening in the region to mark the month.
Grey Bruce Pride Communications Director and Co-chair of the Owen Sound Pride Parade Rachel Paterson says the parade will kick off today at 3 p.m.
It will take the same route as normal, leaving Metro and heading to the Farmers’ Market.
She says the theme for this year pays tribute to the classic film The Wizard of Oz.
“This year we realized it was the 55th anniversary of Stonewall, and the traditional gift for that is emerald. We thought, ‘you know what better way to go and create our theme than to throw it back to a classic,’ which would be the term of Friends of Dorothy, which was long used by queer community to let people know without the risk that they were part of the queer community,” says Paterson.
Following the parade, she says there will be a street fair from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., which will include over 30 queer artists, designers, allies, and info booths at the Farmers’ Market.
“We normally expect about anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people for the parade, so we are expecting it to be a really great year,” says Paterson.
She adds following the parade, there will also be a drag show.
As part of the festivities today, 2nd Avenue East will be closed from 8th Street East to 11th Street East from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. There will also be closures at 1st Avenue East from 8th Street East to 9th Street East and from 8th Street East from 1st Avenue East to 2nd Avenue East.
1st Avenue West will also be closed from from 8th Street West to 9th Street West from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Next weekend the Pride Parade will head to Kincardine and Dundalk.
More details on upcoming pride events can be found on the Grey Bruce Pride Facebook page here.