Daily Xtra to host WorldPride town hall

Online forum will bring your questions to the WorldPride decision-makers and party planners


With less than a month to the beginning of what organizers are hoping will be the biggest Pride festival in North America, Daily Xtra is hosting an online town hall to talk about what’s going to make Toronto WorldPride 2014 different from other Pride events this summer. And we want to hear your questions for our guests.

Joining our panel will be Pride Toronto executive director Kevin Beaulieu and arts and culture manager TK, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, WorldPride Human Rights Conference coordinator Brenda Cossman, Church Wellesley Village BIA manager Mychol Scully and Deep Dish columnist Rolyn Chambers.

The online town hall will be hosted on dailyxtra.com Thursday, May 15, from 7 to 8pm EST.

We’ll be getting information about the upcoming event from our panellists: What will be the biggest events? What makes this Pride different from all previous Pride festivals? How is this WorldPride going to avoid the scandals and disasters that have plagued past WorldPrides? And what’s the legacy of WorldPride Toronto for our city and the global LGBT rights movement?

But we also want to hear from you, our readers. What questions, thoughts and concerns do you have about WorldPride? Do you think Toronto is ready for WorldPride? What performers and events are you excited to see at this year’s festival? How do you want to remember WorldPride?

You can post comments or questions below or interact during the town hall by tweeting us @dailyxtra.

“The possibility of engagement is what really excites me. I’m very curious to hear what people are interested in,” says Daily Xtra video producer Frank Prendergast.

Kevin Beaulieu says he’s looking forward to the opportunity to tell the community what’s coming up at WorldPride. “It’s going to be a little bit of give and take. I want to share info with the community about what’s happening during Pride,” he says. “A lot of attention goes to the headliners and parade, but . . . I’m really looking forward to a dialogue about the breadth of the festival, the number of stages and marches.”

Daily Xtra’s WorldPride town hall will take place live at dailyxtra.com on Thurs, May 15, 7–8pm EST.

Rob Salerno is a playwright and journalist whose writing has appeared in such publications as Vice, Advocate, NOW and OutTraveler.

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Culture, News, Toronto, Canada, Vancouver, Pride, Ottawa

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