Huron County Pride Festival
On June 8, the Huron County Pride Festival is inviting absolutely everybody to come out to Courthouse Square for a day of celebrating all the beautiful differences that make humanity great.
Huron County Pride is a citizen-led grassroots group that has had an enormously positive impact on the community in a relatively short period of time. Last year’s inaugural revelries were a huge success, drawing in a huge crowd that came to dance, sing, eat, learn, and celebrate the spirit of inclusivity. Activities included a morning yoga class, a concert by The Bayfield Ukulele Society, drag queen and king performances, a queer-positive vendor market, and an outdoor dance party. For many visitors of all ages, it was their first experience at a Pride celebration, and the response couldn’t have been more positive. There is real power in being seen, and being celebrated, for the person you really are.
The centralizing circle of Goderich’s Courthouse Square is a perfect place to collectively gather for a celebration of the very right to celebrate. It’s even rumoured that The Square was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s design for the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland. The original king of cartoons had family from just outside of Goderich and is known to have spent time there in his younger years, so it’s certainly possible.
Huron County’s Pride Festival is most definitely a family friendly day of fun, but it’s also important to remember that all Pride celebrations stem from a long history of civilian protests and rebellion against unjust laws. This celebration of the LGBTQ+ community's identity, rights, and history has its origins in a series of protests. In New York City there were the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when LGBTQ+ bar patrons at the Stonewall Inn fought back against police harassment and discrimination. In Canada, similar protests occurred in the city of Toronto in 1981, following Operation Soap - a coordinated police raid on four of the city’s popular bathhouses. These and other reactions to targeted police action became watershed moments in the fight for equal rights. Brave individuals came together to march as one in the face of systemic discrimination.
Those marches are now commemorated by Pride parades and celebrations - colorful and joyous displays of diversity, inclusion, and love. Expressing one’s enthusiasm for inclusiveness is also a big part of what Pride is all about, so get out your rainbow flags, dress up in a fun costume, enjoy some music and dancing, and come together to show solidarity.
The Huron County Pride Festival has already become an important symbol of progress and resilience in the ever ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights. While there is still much work to be done to achieve full equality and acceptance, Pride is a great reminder of the power of unity, the importance of visibility, and the ability to create positive change through fun. So come on out to Goderich’s Courthouse Square on June 8 - it might just be the happiest place on earth!