Fredericton holds first Pride parade

On Sunday, Fredericton kicked off a week of Pride events with the city’s first Pride parade. Pic below via bbnerd on Flickr:

Xtra’s Nick Logan recently reported on the efforts of the growing Fredericton Pride committee:

A group of approximately 30 people attended the
June 14 council meeting, where Mayor Brad Woodside initially skipped
over the issue, but Woodside later realized the error and asked council

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to make a motion and vote on it, which they did unanimously. “I think
it was a done deal before it even came up on the agenda, personally,” says Debi Skidmore, co-chair of the 2010 Pride committee.

Fredericton Pride wanted to hold a parade last year, McAdam says, but
instead opted for a “Random Acts of Kindness” day, with members of the
local queer community doing odd jobs for free in the downtown area.
That event was cancelled on the day, due to bad weather and low
volunteer turnout.

In the ‘90s, members of Fredericton Lesbians and Gays brought Mayor Woodside to a provincial human rights tribunal over his refusal to declare Pride Week:

At the time, Woodside argued his faith and his right to freedom of
speech exempted him from having to proclaim Pride Week, and that “sex
had no place in the council chambers.”

In 2009, the mayor said he has gone through a “personal maturation” process,
adding that he has come to appreciate the diversity in his city’s
population.

“We change with time,” Woodside said, in a telephone interview with Xtra, “and change is for the better.”

Also in New Brunswick this month: Saint John’s Port City Rainbow Pride is back on, after a hiatus in 2009. Moncton Pride starts next week.

Pride in New Brunswick:

Fredericton. Aug 8-15. Parade: Aug 8. Frederictonpride.org.