On July 20, 2024, Burnaby’s seventh annual Pride Festival took center stage at Bonsor Field, dedicated to celebrating the vibrant tapestry of the local 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, along with their families and supporters. This year’s festival boasted a rich array of activities, from live music and drag performances to family-oriented events and interactive booths.
The festivities commenced at 12:30 p.m. with an energizing pre-show DJ set by DJ Moaning Lisa, setting the tone for a day filled with lively entertainment. Throughout the afternoon, attendees were treated to a diverse lineup of musical acts, featuring queer artists such as Hollow Twin, houseguest, Haleluya Hailu, SIESKI, and The Rainbow Concert Band. Notably, houseguest is an all-trans indie rock band formed in 2023, while The Rainbow Concert Band, established in 1990, holds the distinction of being Vancouver’s premier 2SLGBTQIA+ concert band.
Athena Affan, the Afro-Caribbean chair of Burnaby Pride, shared insights into the festival’s origins and evolution. Affan explained that Burnaby Pride began in 2018 with the aim of spotlighting local organizations that provide vital services to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Among these organizations are Trans Care BC, which offers comprehensive support, information, and training for trans individuals and their support networks, and Rainbow Refugee, a Vancouver-based group advocating for safe migration for individuals facing persecution due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or HIV status. Reflecting its commitment to showcasing such organizations, this year’s festival featured over 40 booths dedicated to various causes and services.
The festival’s program also included comedic performances by Joanne Tsung and Sasha Mark, who have co-hosted Burnaby Pride for the past three years. This year’s event also introduced a series of children’s activities, where young attendees engaged in storytime sessions focused on inclusion and created their own shadow puppets to reenact the stories they heard.
Affan emphasized the festival’s continuous effort to forge new relationships and support community partnerships, ensuring a wide range of activities that cater to diverse interests. She noted that Burnaby Pride aims to provide a space where 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals can be visible and celebrated within the community. Affan also highlighted a unique challenge faced by Burnaby: the lack of dedicated queer spaces. She expressed a desire to foster a sense of community and create opportunities for people to connect, particularly for those who might struggle to find others like themselves. Furthermore, she stressed the festival’s goal of engaging the broader community, encouraging non-queer individuals to interact with community booths and performers, thereby increasing awareness without placing undue burden on 2SLGBTQIA+ community members.
The festival’s grand finale featured a spectacular array of drag performances, showcasing talents such as Bebo, Batty Banks, Beardney Spears, Genesis, and SKIM. Bebo, known for being a POC trans Bollywood performer, delivered a unique act blending Indian cultural and Bollywood-themed dance forms with drag, a rare combination in the Canadian drag scene. SKIM, a non-binary lesbian drag king with a global performance history, also dazzled the audience. SKIM is an active member of the House of Rice and the founder of King Sized, a drag king-focused show.
In addition to the main event, Burnaby Pride held a Flag Raising ceremony at Burnaby City Hall on July 15, proudly displaying the intersex progress Pride flag. On July 17, the festival continued with a free event, “Pride at The Planetarium,” hosted at the BCIT Planetarium, celebrating both the beauty of space and the diversity within the queer community.
However, Affan expressed hopes for future involvement in the Hats Off Parade, a grassroots celebration of the Burnaby Heights community that has been a local tradition since the early 1980s. Affan envisions that next year’s participation in the parade will infuse it with “glitter and color,” enhancing visibility and awareness of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Burnaby.
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