Pride Winnipeg

ST VITAL SQUARE Unit 1 – 827 Dakota St Mon-Sat: 10 am-10 pm Sun: 10 am-6 pm OSBORNE VILLAGE 478 River Ave Mon-Thurs: 10 am-10 pm Fri-Sat: 10 am-11 pm Sun: 10 am-6 pm SHOPPERS MALL 1570-18th St Mon-Sat: 10 am-10 pm Sun: 10 am-6 pm WINNIPEG BRANDON MANITOBA LIBERAL CAUCUS Dougald Lamont Judy Klassen Cindy Lamoureux Jon Gerrard MLA for Kewatinook MLA for St. Boniface MLA for River Heights MLA for Burrows MBLiberalCaucus.ca Happy Pride Winnipeg! Pride MAY 24 – JUNE 2 | 03 rally and at both the mainstage and children's stage — and this year the substance-free zone has been expanded to include front stage access and tables for comfort. New additions include accessible entrances and bars in the Queer Beer and beverage tents, and a Pride Info Tent where visitors can ask questions, express concerns or request volunteer support. "Anybody who needs anything can go there," says Dooley of the new tent. "If you're in a wheelchair and you want to order from a food truck, but the food truck is too high, you can go [to the Info Tent] and a volunteer will go with you to the truck to order." Organizers are also placing added emphasis on visitors' mental health, via the festival's Health and Wellness Area, which offers opportunities for quiet relaxation, first aid and counselling, and related re- sources provided by e Red Tent, Klinic's Sexual Assault Crisis Program and the PTSD (Post-Trau- matic Stress Disorder) Alliance of Manitoba. As well, they're working to reduce the event's environmental footprint, by providing on-site com- post bins for food vendors and eliminating water bottle sales on site. Food trucks and beer tents at Pride already use compostable containers, cups, cutlery and straws, and visitors are encouraged to bring their own water bottles, ride their bikes to the festival site, and even to use biodegradable glitter and environment- ally friendly parade handouts. Dooley says the heightened sense of social responsibility is reflected in this year's theme — Pride of Colour, which seeks to give voice to marginalized or oppressed minority groups — and in the mainstage lineup, which includes headliners Kimmortal, a queer Filipinx MC from Vancouver, and Toronto-based dance act Bambii, whose buzzworthy "JERK" parties in- corporate elements of her Caribbean roots. Dooley also notes that on Saturday, the festi- val grounds will play host to the third annual two spirit powwow, as well as the Winnipeg Frontrun- ners Pride Run, and the third annual trans march, which will wind its way from the Legislature to e Forks. Having worked his way up the ranks since joining Pride's army of volunteers seven years ago, Dooley's new role as director re- quires him to stay on top of all aspects of the event's infrastruc- ture. But for someone so close to the action, his preferred Pride locale is a little bit off-the-map. "My favourite part of the festi- val is actually going up on top of e Forks parkade," says Dooley. "You can look out — on the Sunday, on the busiest day at the busiest time — and you just say 'Wow.' You get that sense of accomplishment — like, a team of volunteers did this. It's very rewarding." FRANCOPHONE ENTERTAINER MADAME DIVA APPEARS ON THE CHILDREN'S STAGE JUNE 1 AND JUNE 2 AT 4 P.M.

• Cover