User:JNiemczak1/Winnipeg Pride

Winnipeg Pride is a seven day event held in Winnipeg, Canada, during the first week of June each year. It is a celebration of the LGBT community in Winnipeg. It is the largest celebration of LGBT culture between Toronto and Vancouver, featuring community events all week long and finishing off with the Pride Rally & Parade through Downtown Winnipeg, a huge outdoor festival at The Forks and ending the evening off with the largest LGBT social in Manitoba The Fusion Dance Party.

Leadership
Winnipeg Pride is organized by Winnipeg Lesbian & Gay Pride Inc., a non-profit organization.

Board of Directors:

Chair: Barb Burkowski

Treasurer: Ray Desautels

Secretary: Teresa Bowerman

Media Coordinator: Scott Carman

Marketing Coordinator: Lorena Gaudio

Sponsorship Coordinator: Tony Hailu

Pride Parade: Jason van Rooy

Pride Rally: Adam Jennings

Festival Grounds: Jonathan Niemczak

Business Fair and Market: LAMBDA

Beverage Tent: Paul Hesse

Festival Stage Coordinator: Laura Daniel

Volunteer Coordinator: Amber Clemons

Dance Party Coordinator: Richard Hansen

Website Coordinator: Robert Cote

Pride Celebration Overview
Main events of Pride Week include the flag raising at city hall, pride rally on the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building, the parade which goes through downtown Winnipeg and ends at the historical forks site, the festival which includes 6 hours of performances on Scotia Bank Stage as well as the LAMBA Business Fair. In the evening to cap off the Pride Celebrations the Fushion Dance Party is held.

History
On August 2nd, 1987, about 250 people marched in Winnipeg's first Pride Day. It was a brave step - a tentative venture out of a dark closet that for too long confined the spirits of those who belong to Winnipeg's LGBT community. Legally and socially, and in many other ways, the world was still an oppressive and homophobic place. A few still-shamed people in that first march wore paper bags over their heads to conceal their identities.

Today, more than 8,000 people from the LGBT community and beyond gather to enjoy themselves, to celebrate the many victories for the diverse LGBT Community in Winnipeg, and to remember these is so much to be proud of and thankful for. Pride in Winnipeg has been celebrated annually since 1987, and have evolved from a one-day event into a 7 days festival filled with pride, confidence, fun, color, music, laughter, optimism and activism.