Pride Winnipeg

Photo by Shandi Strong BARRY KARLENZIG, PRIDE WINNIPEG PRESIDENT & CHAIR. A longstanding feature of the festival weekend, this year's PrideMART will host eight organizations offering employment opportunities and 24 local sellers at The Forks from noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. PrideMART is an exceptional opportunity for LGBT+- owned businesses and businesses catering to the community to show what they offer. With limited spaces available, special consideration is given to LGBT+-owned companies and members of the Manitoba LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Commitment to Opportunity Diversity and Equity (CODE) group. Festival traffic, which reached 80,000 attendees in 2022, offers an incredible return on investment for participating businesses. The relatively low participation cost eliminates some financial barriers small businesses face while promoting their offerings at larger markets and high-cost events. Barry Karlenzig, president and chair of Pride Winnipeg, even encouraged some smaller artisans to partner on a space to further reduce the burden. "Winnipeg has 100,000-plus individuals identify as part of the queer community. That's a large business demographic," Karlenzig says. "We want to show the diversity and inclusion that exists in Winnipeg and Manitoba." He says he was incredibly moved by one applicant who explained that they wanted to participate in PrideMART to show their support for a trans-non- binary employee. "They said, 'We want to show them that they belong and that we're a safe place for them to work.' That's huge because [it shows] they're not just going after the pink dollar. They want to show authentic support and diversity," Karlenzig explains. The PrideMART job fair is an opportunity for festival sponsors and organizations to walk the walk regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Up from just two organizations in 2022, this year almost one-quarter of the festival's sponsors will have a representative on site to highlight job opportunities and open the door for recruitment. "Pride has always said to the community and our partners that we want to make sure when working with sponsors and partners, we want them to prove that they are a diverse and inclusive company — that they do have DEI policies and DEI individuals, not just 'Here's our logo for the month.' And where better to find talent from the queer community than at the biggest queer festival of the year?" Karlenzig asks. In 2023, PrideMART will be located between the main stage and the new community stage. While Sunday has traditionally been the busier of the two days, the organizing committee expects increased traffic on Saturday with more programming, including a two- spirit powwow, kids' zone, the Trans March and Pride Run. All PrideMART vendors will also adhere to the environmental standards of The Forks with compostable packaging and no single-use, non-reusable or plastic packaging. PRIDE WINNIPEG AND THE WINNIPEG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAVE PARTNERED TO SHOWCASE MORE LOCAL BUSINESSES AND ARTISANS THAN EVER BEFORE AT THIS YEAR'S PRIDEMART AND JOB FAIR. BY KRISTIN MARAND PRIDEMART AND JOB FAIR CONTINUE TO GROW PRIDE MAY 26 – JUNE 4 10

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