Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds
By James Peters
COVID-19

Pandemic results in cancellation of 2020 Kamloops Pride Parade

Jun 8, 2020 | 10:58 AM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Pride says the annual Pride Parade will not take place this summer.

The 2020 event would have been the organization’s fourth annual, but will be cancelled thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing guidelines surrounding public events.

In a social media post, Kamloops Pride says this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride Parade in New York City.

Despite the parade cancellation, the organization says various online celebrations will be planned for Pride Week, and will be rolled out on the weekend of August 14-16.

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Due to COVID-19 and the government orders regarding group gatherings, Kamloops Pride will not be hosting a Pride Parade in 2020. While we are certainly disappointed about the cancellation of what would have been Kamloops’ 4th Pride Parade, we know that the health and safety of the community is of utmost importance and we take our role in limiting the spread of COVID-19 seriously. We want to thank the thousands of people who have marched in the Kamloops Pride Parade in past years, the dedicated volunteers, incredible and supportive sponsors as well as the vendors, performers and anyone else who helped make past events a success. We would like to express particular gratitude to the Secwépemc people on whose traditional and unceded territory the events are held. We would also like to acknowledge that this year marks 50 years since the first Pride Parade in New York on June 28, 1970. We encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the significant achievements the LGBTQ2S+ community has achieved, and how much work still remains. What does this mean for Pride Week in Kamloops? We are excited to be planning a number of online celebrations taking place the weekend of August 14-16, 2020 including a window display contest, dance, drag show and more. These events will be offered for free, though we will be gratefully accepting donations. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and www.kamloopspride.com/prideweek for more information in the coming weeks. Even though we won’t be able to march through the streets this year, we hope that hosting these events online will allow us to reach an even greater audience and maybe even remove barriers that in-person events may create for members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay kind. Yours in isolation, Kamloops Pride HAPPY PRIDE SEASON !!

A post shared by Kamloops Pride (@kamloopspride) on Jun 7, 2020 at 5:29pm PDT

WATCH highlights from the 2019 Kamloops Pride Parade:

by James Peters
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