Pride is political and Pride is a party

The east coast is bustling in July. Anyone who's spent a winter on our fair coast knows that the two months of summer we get are used to their full potential as best we can. Pride week is no exception to that and is always one of the best times to be in Atlantic Canada.

When I got the call from Halifax Pride to come back from Toronto for the weekend and play alongside spectacular queer artists like LAL, DJ Fadzwa and Plays w/ Music for The Grind, I was over the moon. Halifax is home first and foremost, but Halifax Pride means so much to me. I attended before I came out. I attended after I had come out, and have always felt so much love from the community before I was even willing to recognize it as mine. I've been to Pride celebrations all of over North America and Halifax is still my favourite to play, as well as attend.

Pride is political. Pride is a party. The party aspect of Pride doesn't cancel out the politics behind it; it compliments it in many ways. It's a form of protest and a declaration that we are here. We fuck who we want, we dress how we want and we resist, stand up, party and celebrate our freedoms and recognize our struggles how we see fit. We've made a lot of progress and have a lot further to go, to ensure groups of people are not marginalized within this celebration. This is not a new concept and we have so many amazing people throughout history to thank for that. We could all stand to have a little more Marsha P. Johnson in our hearts.

Pride is a time to come together, it's a time to mourn those in our community we've lost, and it’s a time to recognize the struggles that people in our community still face. Pride is a time to reflect—it's a time to listen to voices different than our own, it's a time to take up space as well as create it and it's a time to celebrate that we are here and we aren't going anywhere. It's a time for some of us to recognize our privilege and give space to folks in our community that are not being afforded that same privilege. It's a time to rise up. It's a time to resist.

It's also a time to dance. So, let's!


Voice of the City is a platform for any and all Halifax individuals to share their diverse opinions and writings. The Coast does not necessarily endorse the views of those published. Our editors reserve the right to alter submissions for clarity, length, content and style. Want to appear in this section? Submissions can be sent to [email protected].