The Airdrie Pride Society has announced the inaugural Pride Festival will be held on June 22 to raise awareness of the LGBTQ2+ community.

“It’s really going to be a demonstration of acceptance and inclusion,” said Candice Kutyn, vice president of Airdrie Pride.

“The theme is ‘Putting Down Roots’, which means we are basically going to keep growing inclusion and acceptance right here in Airdrie.”

Kutyn said that those who identify as LGBTQ2+ might feel like they have to go to Calgary to find support.

“We don’t want people to have to leave their community to find their community,” she said.

“Yes, we may be in close proximity to Calgary, but it still creates a barrier for youth or people who don’t drive. We want people to feel loved and accepted in their own community.”

Established in 2014, the Airdrie Pride Society came together to develop supports and programs for LGBTQ2+ people, especially youth.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been able to bring all of the things we wanted to Airdrie and make them happen,” said Kutyn.

“We’re really happy with the amount of progress we’ve made.”

Since the announcement of the festival, support from the community has come pouring in.

“We’ve had an incredible amount of businesses and individuals reach out to us to offer a helping hand,” said Kutyn.

“We had 50 people show up at our volunteer information night. Courtney Rose of Rose Gold Piercing stepped up to be our title sponsor. We’ve been so blown away.”

The choice to announce the festival after the election results was deliberate.

“We live in a community that is still quite conservative in Alberta,” Kutyn said.

“There’s a lot of people in the LGBTQ2+ community who are nervous right now with some of the changes that might happen, like with GSAs. The importance of this is even more profound to us because we know that there is support out there.”

Kutyn pointed out a quote written by Airdrie Pride Society board member Tammy Plunkett stating, “While fear screams, love whispers.”

“There’s a lot of screaming out there about unacceptance, but we really want to spread the whispers,” said Kutyn.

“This event is a step towards that.”

On June 22, the festival will begin with opening remarks and a solidarity walk at City Hall starting at 10:30 a.m.

The solidarity walk will be led by the LGBTQ2+ community along with their supporters and allies to signify coming together.

There will be no uniforms, business logos, or political signage allowed to solidify the statement of resilience and unity.

At 12 p.m., the walk will end in Nose Creek Park where a pride flag will be raised.

The rest of the festivities will take place in the park from 12:30 to 4 p.m. with booths, games, food trucks, and entertainment including a family-friendly drag show.

Please visit airdriepride.wordpress.com to find more information on volunteering or sponsoring the event.