Pride month may have ended, but 100 Mile House’s first annual Pride Parade is still on its way.
100 Mile Pride founder Sabrina Zezza said everything is coming together for this year’s Pride in the Park celebrations on Saturday, July 29. Zezza remarked the day is going to be pretty “wild” and they’re hoping for a big turnout.
“I’m so excited. I think it’s going to be a really fun time. Last year we had 300 people there and it was very minimal compared to what we have this year. So I’m just really feeling like it’s going to be way bigger and better this year,” Zezza said.
The parade is set to follow the same route as the Santa Claus Parade, with floats and marchers gathering behind Save-On-Foods and heading down Birch Avenue and Fourth Street as they head towards Centennial Park. Zezza said the parade starts at 11 a.m. and anyone is welcome to participate. They only request that those looking to bring parade floats reach out to 100 Mile Pride ahead of time at 100milepride@gmail.com.
Zezza said they plan to have “the big gay dog walk” return for pet owners this year, and noted that one person plans to walk their cat. Several participants also plan to bring their horses to the parade, so all “furry and feathered friends” are welcome.
“We are hoping that at the end of the parade, viewers will funnel into the back and follow the parade down to the park where we’ll get the party started,” Zezza said.
After the parade, the Pride in the Park event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature several vendors, kids’ games and a drag performance by Abb’original and Ella Lamoureux, who will also serve as the event’s emcee.
“There’s a lot of people who just wanted to have a vendor booth to support. One of the banks will be there to hand out merch, there’s going to be a lot of people giving out swag and even some youth in the community wanted to have a booth so they could hand out stickers and stuff like that.”
They plan to have food trucks this year, but Zezza said they’re still trying to confirm who will be there. Any food truck that does come will have “the entire park to themselves” they remarked with a laugh.
Following Pride in the Park, Zezza said Pride will be hosting a Queer Prom at the 108 Community Centre starting at 7 p.m. The prom will be a paid event with tickets going for $20 except for kids 12 and under, who get in for free. Tickets are available at Nuthatch Books and the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre.
Zezza said they’ll have a drag show starting at 7:30 p.m. before opening up the dance floor at 8 p.m. The DJ for the night is Miss Bliss, who started out organizing Pride events across the Prairies. Zezza is excited to be working with her, noting she’s been able to give them lots of good advice.
Zezza remarked that they’re still working on officially forming the 100 Mile Pride Society. The group plans to be up and running by the end of the year.
“I’m going to wait until after Pride to announce anything else.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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