Thunder Bay’s Pride celebrations are taking a different form this fall after severe weather washed out the summer parade and festival.
The new event, called Rainbow Revival, is happening Saturday at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition (CLE). Organizers say it’s a chance to bring the community together in October, which is recognized as 2SLGBTQ+ History Month in Canada.
“The Pride parade and festival that was supposed to happen in July at the Friendship Gardens was cancelled because of severe weather and thunderstorms,” said Scotia Kauppi, chair of Thunder Pride. “[I]t wouldn’t have been safe, and broke our safety and security plan protocols.”
Kauppi said the board had to regroup and move the celebration to October. October is also 2SLGBTQ+ History Month in Canada, “so it’s still a Pride month,” Kauppi said.
Scotia Kauppi, who has led Thunder Pride for four years, said the effort to pull the event together wasn’t easy. (Nicky Shaw/CBC)
The event will include a march from noon to 1 p.m. around the CLE grounds, followed by an indoor celebration.
“We just want to be very cautious of any possible other weather interruptions,” said Kauppi. “We can’t afford to have a parade. It takes six months to schedule a parade, and we just don’t have the time or funds to do it. So, we’re still going to have a march.”
From 1 to 4 p.m., the family-friendly portion of Rainbow Revival will feature food, vendors, games and live performances, including Equality Rocks, Embody Dance Collective, Drag Artist Sophia Sapphire and MC Talon Firebird.
5:40Thunder Pride to host Pride Revival this weekend
Thunder Pride is making a big comeback this weekend, with rainbows, drag and a march through the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition grounds. It’s a rescheduled event, after the main pride event planned for this past summer was canceled due to weather.
The 19-plus evening program begins at 6 p.m. and includes performances by rapper Phineas Gauge, Mister E and Vixen Vox. Admission is $5.
Among the performers is Thunder Bay-based Embody Dance Collective. Founder and artistic director Emma Dubinsky said the group’s piece, Tap In, will feature jazz funk and hip hop styles. It was choreographed by Dubinsky and Jessie Kajorinne.
“Our performance is going to be kind of interactive with the audience as well,” Dubinsky said. “We’re going to start with kind of a little warm-up and stretch and then go into some grooves similar to what we would do in one of our drop-in classes.”
For Dubinsky, being part of Rainbow Revival fits the spirit of Pride.
Embody Dance Collective is a dance training and performance company that aims to empower adult dancers through performance. (Submitted by Emma Dubinsky)
“Pride is all about just celebrating diversity and self-expression and love. So I think that it’s so great that they’ve rescheduled it and they still want to do it,” she explained. “Our dancers come from all backgrounds, identities, and skill levels. And that’s similar to what we’re celebrating with the Pride festival.”
Kauppi, who has led Thunder Pride for four years, said the effort to pull the event together wasn’t easy.
“It’s been a little bit of a rocky road just trying to sort through everything,” they said. “Other than that, the community itself, everyone’s very excited to come out and see all the acts and everybody.”
Kauppi said that regardless of size or venue, the most important thing is community.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s big, small, someone’s backyard, in a park, in the CLE auditorium, wherever, along the entire street, don’t care, as long as we can spend time together as a community. That’s just the best part of it,” said Kauppi.
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