Bingo, with a twist
A fun salute to the LGBTQ community
A full crowd of supportive students, staff and community members proudly packed the atrium at the Pictou campus of the Nova Scotia Community College.
The campus – and even some of the guests – was decked out in the colours of the rainbow, for the Pride Coffee House and Celebration.
The Monday afternoon event entailed trivia questions, and a great deal of levity in a game of drag queen bingo.
“Our main goal is to make sure that students who walk through the door have a sense of belonging,” said Bobi Macdonald, student services adviser at the Pictou campus of NSCC.
Drag queen bingo, much to the amusement of guests, was a variation on the traditional game of bingo, where numbers were A student at the Pictou Campus of NSCC helps John Atwater with his makeup, as part of a game of drag queen bingo, part of the Pride Coffee House event. called and those who matched Beaton,” two characters whose the numbers were allowed to help antics lit up the atrium with two drag queens outfit NSCC faclaughter. ulty member John Atwater as a Although there were plenty drag queen. of laughs, NSCC Pictou Campus
Presiding over the quixotic principal David Freckelton saw and wacky bingo game were it as a good step toward a serShaun Mclean, starring as his ious cause. He said events like alias, “Linda Langille,” and Jake this week are not just important, Chisholm starring as “Betty-lou “they are critical.”
“We serve all communities, and we should reflect that,” said Freckelton who was in attendance during the Pride Day events. “It’s important they feel welcome, supported and safe when they are here.”
Freckelton said diversity is an important value of the college, and that he was proud of the significant crowd of students and staff who showed up to participate in the coffee house event. Freckelton also commended those who made the coffee house a reality, noting “it’s a lot of logistical work” to make an event like that take place as smoothly as it did.
Gerard Veldhoven, an LGBTQ activist, expressed his admiration of the coffee house, saying it was “absolutely wonderful to see such a diverse event” at the college.
“Hopefully this will become a yearly event. There are so many people here, and it’s such a good, responsive crowd,” said Veldhoven. “It’s great to take part in this. It raises awareness and brings communities together.”