Celebrating Niagara’s sexual diversity
After six years of working to change perceptions regarding Niagara’s sexual diversity, Pride Niagara is making a difference.
“When we realize that more people are wanting to be a part of it and more people are joining the celebration, it gives us a great satisfaction,” said board chairperson Enzo De Divitiis.
Pride Niagara was started by “a bunch of friends” who realized that although Niagara is their home and they love the region, they still felt a sense of isolation.
“We found that in Niagara, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people feel that they can live here, and that’s fine” as long as they quietly remained to themselves.
“That’s Gay Joe over there, and he’s a really nice guy. But nobody wants Gay Joe to feel like everybody else, socially,” De Divitiis said. “Joe knows it’s OK. He wants to have dinner with his partner somewhere or dance with his friends somewhere and not have a feeling that he’s not in the element that he should be in.”
Members of Pride Niagara wanted to change that.
“We want to put forth the message that you can live in the Niagara Region. You can be happy, successful and thrive socially as well.”
And in the years since, the group has been leading the way towards changing perceptions in the community.
Despite the strides they’ve made, there are still elements of homophobia pervading the region, including among some elected officials.
“It’s ridiculous, which is why we find it so important to celebrate our achievements, and to celebrate the successes,” he said. “We should be celebrating each other’s differences and seeing how amazing it is, taking the benefits of them and not crucifying people these days. It’s insane. It’s 2017 and people still have these silly hangups.”
Pride Niagara’s biggest contribution over the years has been a series of events, that take place next week. Every year, the group strives to make the events even better than they were the year before.
“We really try to add more and more,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. This year, as entertainment, DJ, and our host at a meet and greet, we have Lady Bunny, a legendary drag queen.”
Organizers also do their best to keep events as affordable as possible.
“The majority of our events are at no cost or a minimal cost,” De Divitiis said. “We want to make sure that the community that is celebrating isn’t necessarily paying for everything. They’re not having to work to celebrate the achievements that they’ve already worked for.”
It’s a huge job for a handful of volunteers. But it’s “definitely a labour of love,” he said.
De Divitiis said the week-long festival takes a committee of four “very dedicated” people as well as four “solid volunteers” most of the year to organize.
“We do all the planning, all the co-ordinating, all the outreach, all the organization, all of it,” De Divitiis said. “Come the day of, there’s obviously a couple more people that jump in and volunteer, which is fantastic, but 95 per cent of the planning is done by four dedicated people.”
When the local Pride events conclude, De Divitiis said volunteers take the rest of the month off and spend the time celebrating Pride festivals in neighbouring communities including Hamilton, Kitchener/Waterloo, and Toronto.
“We try to go in and support theirs as well, because they continue to support us,” he said.