Pride month events building up to a week of festivities

Due North

June, also known as Pride Month, ushers Pride Week events into Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh starting June 26th with a flag raising ceremony & Mayoral proclamation at city hall, but that’s not all. The combination of the annual Pride Parade and Pride Picnic on July 4th has been well advertised, but included on June 27th & 28th respectively, are a lesser known historical drag show party and an enchanted afternoon tea.

Spilling the tea to CFURadio is Prince George Pride Society’s Board Secretary Heather Hillier, who also wears the garden-party-hat of Admin Coordinator for the Northern BC Queer Connections Society (NBCQS). The afternoon tea is intended to be an all ages event, accessible during daylight hours, while the Drag HerStory event honours queer history through the ages and is followed by an evening dance party.

Hillier cites one of the challenges in organizing a drag show commemorating drag history, “it’s a little tricky, because a lot of queer history has been lost over the years, because it wasn’t accepted. Which is part of why we’re doing the Queer History Project, for representation and for our people to be remembered.” The event’s historical theme also highlights the Queer History documentary that NBCQS is working on, which producers will be capturing footage for, during Pride Week.

- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.