Fierté Sudbury Pride (FSP) is back with Queerantine 2.0, another virtual Greater Sudbury Pride Week.
The 24th annual celebrations are taking place from July 12-18.
“(FSP) had hoped that last year's virtual Queerantine Pride Week would be a one-off, but here we are one year later, and we still can't come together to celebrate like we're used to,” said FSP in a news release.
This year’s format follows the one established during last year’s festival. The first part is a series of lunchtime talks, panels and discussions starting at noon on most weekdays. This series features Two-Spirit and Indigi-queer 101 with Teddy Syrette (Ozhawa Anung Kwe/Yellow Star Woman), two panels (one in French, one in English) dealing with intersectionality, and a workshop on dealing with 2SLGBTQ+ harassment in the workplace.
Evenings are reserved for fun and entertainment.
The virtual events, suitable for all ages, include speed-friending, a Discord games night, a Queer Short Films programme and filmmaker Q&A presented in partnership with the Queer North Film Festival, a bilingual Queer Trivia, and the requisite online Drag Show Spectacular hosted by Zig’s Bar.
On the morning of July 18, St. Peter’s United Church will also be offering its Pride Worship Service on its YouTube channel.
Back this year after a hiatus is also the (Little) Big Gay Cabaret. A handful of Greater Sudbury's brightest artists shine in this series of short performances in a variety of formats. Music, poetry, drag, and standup, it’s all here.
This show also serves as the launch for Queeranzine, a virtual booklet containing short poems, mini-manifestos, collages, and artistic photography submitted by members of the community. A selection of the above events will also be broadcast on Eastlink Community TV.
Finally, in-person events are back, but in a limited capacity. FSP has partnered with Dynamic Earth once again this year to illuminate the Big Nickel, one of Sudbury’s biggest symbols and attractions, with the colours of the Pride Flag from Monday to Friday evenings, starting at sunset. People are asked to respect physical distancing and to avoid gathering in large groups or for long periods of time.
FSP said it unfortunately won’t be able to host a Pride March or a Day in the Park, although it might be something that could happen in October.
“We wanted to give the community an opportunity to be present and visible in public,” said FSP in the news release. “We’re inviting Sudbury’s 2SLGBTQ+ community to Queer the Beach. We’re asking folks to gather up their friends and chosen families, select a public beach in the Greater Sudbury, and take over that space over the course of one afternoon.”
FSP’s 2021 community projects, announced in June, are still progressing. The Pride Playlists are available anytime on Spotify, and FSP has developed a list of recommendations, Reading with Pride, with the Greater Sudbury Public Library, and over 100 Pride care packages will be delivered to local youth over the weekend prior to the Pride Week kickoff.
“This year, we think we’ve come up with entirely free programming that’s accessible, that can satisfy a variety of interests, and that remains accessible to as many people as possible,” said Alex Tétreault, chair, Fierté Sudbury Pride. “We get it. Having another year of virtual events isn’t ideal. It’s definitely not what we had in mind this time last year. Fingers crossed, after one more year of celebrating apart, we’ll be able to come together and throw one hell of a bash next summer for Fierté Sudbury Pride’s 25th anniversary.”
