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Guelph Pride
Guelph Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.[2] Organized by the Guelph Pride Committee with the assistance of Out on the Shelf, the city's local LGBT library and resource centre,[3] the event takes place in May each year.[4] The event generally takes place as the first Pride celebration in the Southern Ontario region each summer.[5] Held for the first time in 2003, the event celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2013.[2] Prior to the launch of its own Pride festival, Guelph held events as part of Waterloo Region's tri-Pride.[6] tri-Pride and its former name Waterloo-Wellington Regional Pride Committee with a number of community partners assisted with the transition to create Guelph's own pride festival committee [7] In 2013, the organization also launched Winter Pride, a smaller separate program of events which takes place in February.[3] The organization is well-supported by community leaders. Former mayor Karen Farbridge has officiated the official raising of the rainbow flag to kick off the event,[4][8] and Liz Sandals, the city's provincial MPP, has also attended events and supported the organization.[9] The organization also works to help build and develop LGBT resources throughout Southwestern Ontario; in 2011, they donated several hundred books to the Thames Art Gallery in Chatham to help build a local LGBT library and archive.[10] Unlike many larger pride festivals, Guelph Pride does not currently hold a parade, instead focusing on a more modest program of family and community events.[9] Its weeklong program of events currently culminates in an afternoon family fair at the city's West End Community Centre on the final weekend, followed by a pride dance in the evening.[4] References
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